Troika Parallel
by Shivakashi
Summary: They finally retrieved Sasuke but Naruto's dreams of becoming Hokage would have to be put on hold. There were far greater things in store the young jinchuuriki: he may have no choice but to believe in destiny. Manga Sp. NaruSaku Inuyasha X Harry Potter
1. The Failed Extraction

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Inuyasha or Harry Potter. Woe.

**A/N:** Alright people, this is the sequel to Millennium. However, since there may just be Naruto fans here who just don't trust crossovers I tried to make it so you wouldn't have to read the stories before this. Just give it a try, ok?

**Chapter 1**

A steady dripping was what first coaxed his mind back into consciousness. He was aware that the monotonous sound was not far from his head and it was a cold hard surface that lay beneath his body. Bitter air washed over a bare strip down his torso causing goose bumps to climb across the exposed skin. He tried to move in order to shield himself from the cold but found his activities restrained.

Why couldn't he move his arms? Or his legs?

His eyelids cracked apart, allowing brilliant sapphire to shine through.

"Ugh...where...?"

The young man could only manage turn his head to get a glimpse of his surroundings. He was in a cavern of sorts; the deep ceiling above him was made of cool unhewn rocks, as were the walls. He raised his head from the ground and managed to look over his body. He was lying at the bottom of two raised hands of a statue—one of a large, humanoid monster. His arms and legs were pulled spread-eagled and bound by what looked like ropes of thick beads. His jacket and mesh shirt had been cut down the center to the very ends of their threads to expose his navel, leaving the necklace of the First uncovered. Giving the strange bindings a curious look, he experimentally tugged at one.

"Ah!" he hissed as the beads gave off a purple glow from the small movement and burned into his wrists. Whatever they were, they left him good and stuck.

_What the hell had happened?_

He thought back to what he last remembered. Baa-chan and Ero-sennin managed to defeat that snake bastard while Kakashi-sensei kept Kabuto occupied. He and Sakura-chan dealt with Sasuke-teme. Man, that was a battle if he ever was in one; those drugs sure did the misled bastard wonders. But it was a happy ending for all; he and Sakura-chan used flawless teamwork to take out their lost teammate, they could hear the triumphant cries of the other two Sannins as Orochimaru was struck down for the last time—finally obliterated by one last inhuman punch courtesy of Tsunade. Sakura ran to help Kakashi-sensei with Kabuto, leaving him with the unconscious form of his once best friend. He was exhausted, but happy. Too bad it seemed the afterglow of gaining back Sasuke was short lived. He remembered sensing very strong chakra signals before something struck him hard in the back of the neck, knocking him out.

"Naruto-kun, you are awake."

The blond started and twisted his head to the left, seeing the tall, imposing figure of Uchiha Itachi. The missing-nin looked mildly surprised at his mindful state.

"The drugs should have kept you unconscious throughout most of the procedure."

"Drugs don't work so well on me," Naruto bit out with contempt. He began sensing other chakra signals and one by one more cloaked figures began to appear on the tips of the up-stretched fingers of the sculpted hands. The weird part was that more than half of them had no physical body. Moaning, Naruto laid his head back on the ground and closed his eyes.

_So this was it, huh?_

"This looks a bit extreme, yeah?" the clay master stated, staring at the restrained young boy with the one eye that wasn't hidden behind hair.

"The nine-tails is different from the others." An overly shadowed figure stated. His body was exposed all the way up to his neck, the face deliberately left in the shadows; he was clearly the leader. "We must take certain precautions. Let us get this underway."

Naruto felt like laughing. Everything he had trained for, everything he had dreamed of...now void because of one moment of weakness. The bit from the mouth of the statue fell and stuck the ground noisily.

"You can't contain him..." he warned them; his voice sounded raspy yet amused, "He's just going to destroy you and then he'll move onto the rest of the world—"

He broke off in hacking coughs and was forced to turn his head to the side lest he choke on the blood he spit up. He must still be pretty injured—why wasn't the fox healing him?

Oh, he knew why.

The beast was saving its strength to take advantage of the seal—had the seal been in its original condition, the Akatsuki's extraction jutsu might work correctly, but as it is, the seal was damaged, and little by little the Kyuubi has taking advantage of each crack and crevice. Not only that, but as the seal slowly deteriorated over the years, the fox's chakra had been steadily intermingling with his own, his chakra pathways adapting and developing to accommodate the otherwise hazardous life force—the Akatsuki would soon find extracting the fox from him to be more difficult than planned. When the seal finally breaks, there will be only one way to save Konoha, and it was impossible while he was left immobile. Uzumaki Naruto felt nothing but defeat.

"You underestimate our power, Jinchuuriki..." the leader hissed, the swirling eyes glowed from within the darkness and bored into Naruto's skull. The genin looked away; there was something very twisted about those eyes.

"_Fuunin Jutsu: Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin!_"

Several seconds of silence fell across the assembly and Naruto began to hope that something had gone wrong. Then a cold rush of air flew from the hollow opening of the mouth and nine dragon-like depictions poured forth, taking form around the captured boy.

It had begun.

The remaining Akatsuki members were immediately aware of several differences between this extraction and the other vessels. For one, the other jinchuuriki were unconscious during the procedure, while Naruto was very awake. The next difference was the removal part; the part they were witnessing right now. The bijuu were normally relieved through any openings of the head; the mouth, the eyes, the ears...that was when they first realized something was wrong. The Kyuubi was being ripped from the seal and strait out of the stomach.

Naruto's body was arched as far back as the restraints would allow as his stomach was torn open, the massive, blistering demonic chakra rushing out of his abdomen. His head was thrown back as he let loose a single, long, hoarse scream. Blood began to pool beneath him; a mounting blackish puddle that grew, spreading across the cold stone floor, seeping into the cracks between the rocks.

"You can scream all you want...no one will be coming for you, jinchuuriki..." the leader hissed maliciously at the breaking boy. Greed swelled in his chest as he stared fixedly at the eyes of the statue. One by one the stone lids slowly pealed apart revealing six with pupils and three blank. This shouldn't have happened for at least another two days, but the extraction was happening differently—the chakra flow was much faster, much heavier, than the others.

The mounting excitement filling the leader's being from both the pained screams of the sacrifice and the sheer power the Kyuubi was delivering was expunged when the blank, center eye suddenly and loudly cracked.

"Well fuck..."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Finding Sasuke's body in the middle of a battlefield with Naruto gone and only the remnants of Itachi and Kisame's chakra signals to indicate what had happened did not bode well with the rest of the party. Sakura had immediately broken down in tears, blaming herself for leaving him in the first place while Tsunade seemed close to tears herself and took on a pale, shaky look. Kakashi's one visible eye seemed dead; he had already resigned himself to the fact that he let another teammate die. Jiraiya didn't know what to do and was rooted to the spot, his eyes sweeping over the crumpled form of the Uchiha, not wanting to believe the implications.

"We need to get him, now!" the pink haired kunoichi screamed at her master and village leader, "They'll kill him!"

Tsunade would have given anything to go after the boy that reminded her so much of her little brother, but she was forced to put aside emotional impulses and think logically on the situation.

"And do what? None of us are in any condition to fight the Akatsuki! It would be suicide." However, her tone suggested she felt otherwise on the matter.

"We're going to die anyway if they do extract the Kyuubi." Kakashi argued, against all reason, "We may not know what their intentions are, but anything involving releasing the nine-tails from its seal can't be good for Konoha's well being."

Jiraiya too wanted to retrieve his student while there was still time, but even he knew it was hopeless at this point in time.

"Look, I understand. I want to get him too. But we need to gather our strength and bring Sasuke back to Konoha. God knows this little bastard is going to give us hell when he wakes up," he said, gesturing to the unconscious traitor before bending down and slinging his body over his shoulder.

"They'll start the extraction immediately!" Sakura cried, refusing to accept that it was futile, "We don't have any time to waste! After everything he's done for us—you're just going to let him die! Just like every other village has done to their Jinchuuriki!"

"I will not!" Tsunade snapped, effectively shutting her apprentice up, "It's a jutsu that takes at least three days. We have time. We will go back to Konoha and gather reinforcements, and then we will have a chance of saving Naruto."

The fiery young woman wasn't about to be mollified.

"Oh yeah?" she shot back with no restraint, "Like we had time with Gaara? There's no one to bring Naruto back to life this time!"

Tsunade stared, frustrated at her student. While she usually admired her rare bouts of boldness, this insubordination was extremely out of character. It was as though her famed inner personality had completely taken over. Was Naruto that important to her?

A loud roaring to the far north of them startled the group out of their case. Miles and miles ahead a thick, red cloud could be seen rising from the mountains in a twisting pattern, gathering in the sky and sending off loud thunderous rumblings accompanied by foreboding flashes of red light. All four of them recognized that chakra, the _feel_ of that aura, all too clearly.

Sakura tore her eyes from the horrific scene to shoot them a withering glare before dashing off in the direction of the commotion. Kakashi wasted no time in following after her...but not to stop her.

"Shit!" Tsunade swore. Hokage responsibilities be damned. It was one thing if Naruto was taken, but she wasn't about to loose the brat _and_ her apprentice.

"Hey—wait!" the remaining sannin called to the busty woman's retreating back. He sighed, looking back and forth between the burden on his shoulder and the ominous red clouds piling in the sky...taking the shape of a fox...

Without a second thought he followed the three other members of their makeshift team, Uchiha and all.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Shit! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Kisame cursed, gritting his teeth as he struggled to maintain the jutsu through the pain of the scalding demonic chakra licking at him.

"Just hold it strong!" the leader's projection commanded over the roaring chakra, "Do not let go!"

How had things gone this badly? One minute the extraction was going along fine, albeit slightly unorthodoxly, and the next the Kyuubi had broken free of both the seal and the statue, blasting through the roof of the cave and gathering in the clouds; taking form.

"I—I can't—" Tobi groaned as his arms in his real body started to bleed from the demonic chakra eating away at his projected human flesh. He cried out as his projection was forcefully dispelled from the overwhelming energy, his real body, in a whole other country, flew backwards from its lotus position and slammed into a cement wall of his hotel room. One after another, Akatsuki members were blown away by the sheer power, many falling unconscious due to the intensity of it.

The leader looked up at the gargantuan fox-head and two front legs that had formed in the sky. The Kyuubi was materializing right before him, and its power was nothing that he could imagine. For the first time in years he feared death. With quick decision, he released his hold on the jutsu and dispelled away from the awesome force; this was a battle he would fight another day.

Amidst all the terror and disorder and chaos no one seemed to notice the strange binds holding the condemned young man break apart under the strain of the escaping demon. He moaned piteously, his sore arms immediately going to his torn open stomach, as though trying to hold in the chakra. He forced his eyes to open and was nearly blinded by red. Biting back the pain, he realized his situation. He was free to move.

There was only one thing to do.

"Ugh...ah..."

Standing was more painful than he imagined, especially when his chakra coils were being drained of the Kyuubi's chakra that they had become so accustomed to. Not to mention the severe amount of blood he had lost. His feet slipped a little in the dark liquid that covered no small amount of ground, making it extra hard to remain standing as the dizziness from blood loss and fatigue settled in.

His body felt very hot, the chakra scratched at his skin, picking off bits and pieces of his flesh as he stood in the center of the cyclone. Squinting through the fog he could already see the torso of the Kyuubi and five of its tails. Thankfully, their chakra was still connected, which was just what he needed for this to work.

Carefully, so not to let anything _else_ spill out of his stomach wound, he pulled his arms up to his chest and began a long series of hand seals he had beaten into his own head. He tried his best to ignore the dark, booming cackles of the fox, the black flecks of his charred skin tearing away, the high chiming of the jutsu he was performing, and focused on the task at hand. There were so many things that could go wrong with this jutsu.

But he knew it was going right when two half-circle, runic-like seals glowed on his forearms. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he prepared to accept his fate.

"Forgive me, Ero-sennin."

He fisted his hands and drew his arms together, connecting the two seals to create one circular design that glowed an eerie black upon completion. The ground shook tremulously and fractured. A menacing chill swept through the territory, mixing with the evil chakra and making the situation that much worse. More wisps of red chakra flew from Naruto's being, joining the demon above. But these were different. They came from the palms of his hands, which were now outstretched and reaching towards the hellish creature; they wrapped around parts of the solidifying fox, tightening in an iron grip. The Kyuubi's blazing red eyes fixed themselves on its defiant vessel.

"**YOU DARE TURN MY OWN CHAKRA AGAINST ME?"**

Naruto glared back at it; blood leaked through the cracks of his clenched teeth as he forced his body to produce more chakra than it had, throwing both his own and what demonic he had left into the jutsu.

Itachi started from his position pressed against a cave wall. His attention had been solely fixed on the reforming Kyuubi; he hadn't thought to look at Naruto. Apparently the same went for the rest of the terrorist group.

"What—!" the blue-haired member growled, "When did he...?"

"What the hell is that brat doing?" Kisame yelled, looking furious—most likely from his perplexity with the situation. "We need to stop him!"

"No!" Zetsu yelled sharply, but the shark-like man had already jumped a little too close to the boy and was rewarded with a tendril of chakra whipping him across the cave. "Tch...idiot."

The Akatsuki members could do nothing but watch as the tendrils the jinchuuriki was supplying multiplied and began to pull the great Kyuubi down to the earth. What shocked them more was that the ground began to release a strange type of chakra, equally as red, from the clefts in the ground, and these too began to pull at the beast.

Naruto's entire body was shaking and it was sheer will that kept him standing. The surrounding pain was nearly unbearable as he entered the final stages of the jutsu. The ground beneath his feet turned jellied, dipping, creating a basin of sorts, and the new vines of chakra released from the ground wrapped around his legs, worming along his torso and arms, pulling him down into Hell—much in the same manner as his own chakra was doing to the bijuu.

The Kyuubi began to double its efforts to be free of its ties, nearing madness as it recognized exactly where this was going.

**"HOW—NO! THIS SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE!"**

"You're fucking right it is, bastard!" Naruto snarled. His body was numb, his nerves burning out from the concentrated pain running rampant thorough his body. But he didn't release the jutsu—not even when the chains of Hell tightened so hard on his battered body that his right arm was crushed, causing him to let loose an agonized scream. By keeping the image of his friends, of Sakura-chan and Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baachan firmly in his mind he was granted a strength that should have left him long ago.

The Kyuubi was thrashing wildly now as two more of its tails were pulled back into Naruto's stomach.

"**JUST WAIT, HUMAN. JUST WAIT UNTIL I HAVE YOU IN MY CLAWS! YOU KNOW YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO BRING MY ENTIRETY BACK INTO THE CURSED SEAL! YOUR LIFE IF FORFIET!"**

The ground broke open with a loud blare as a tidal wave of energy erupted from Hell and began to cone itself around the two beings, pulling them into its depth at a catastrophic speed. Everything was nearly complete—soon the world would no longer be forced to endure the presence of Kyuubi, sealed or not. It was so loud, so hot, that Naruto almost didn't hear the shouting of his name.

"-ruto! NARUTO!"

In a daze, he drew his half-aware eyes to the image of a screaming Sakura being held back from running strait into the mesh of chakra by Kakashi. Through the reddened filter he could see that she was sobbing, clawing at her sensei to let her go.

Sakura had never seen anything more horrific than what her eyes were taking in now. It had nothing to do with the Kyuubi thrashing above them, or the uncontrollable demonic chakra flying everywhere, or the scattered and burnt present members of the Akatsuki. It was Naruto, so pale and haunted looking, covered in blood and sizzling chakra, stomach torn open, tears running down his face that was screwed up against a pain that looked indescribable. She wanted to run to him, to save him like he always saved her. She didn't want to sit by and watch from the sidelines anymore—especially not for this...anything but this.

Their eyes connected, a spark of awareness returned to Naruto's baby blues, and a silent message was passed between the two.

Weak in her grief, she fell to her knees, slipping from her sensei's grasp.

"N-Naruto...please...please don't leave me..." she knew he couldn't hear her—she could barely hear herself—but she wanted him to know...

His eyes gazed back at her with such sadness that she felt as though Tsunade had just socked her in the stomach. He smiled forlornly and mouthed, 'I'm sorry'.

Without warning, the walls of chakra folded over and crashed down on Naruto and what was left of the Kyuubi. Sakura was back on her feet, screaming and running towards the sea of chakra, somehow hoping to pull Naruto from beneath it. But the instant the energy hit the ground it spread flat and melted into the charred and hardened earth, taking with it Naruto and the demon.

"Where is he? Where did he go?" Tsunade shouted, circling the cooling rubble along with Sakura. She didn't bother to care that the four solid Akatsuki members had fled the area and were most likely observing them from afar. She just wanted that hyperactive nuisance back; she couldn't loose another one to that necklace...

"Hell."

Tsunade, Kakashi, and Sakura all turned to face Jiraiya, who was standing next to a now awake Sasuke. The traitorous ninja seemed as confused as ever, staring at the toad hermit in disbelief with what he just heard.

"H-hell...?" his voice sounded raspy and he spit up a little blood as he spoke. He knew it was senseless to try and run. His former teammates clearly did not hold back against him; he could even recognize the pain of a few ruptured organs.

Jiraiya glared at the brunette so hard that it took all of Sasuke's well earned self-discipline to keep from flinching.

"Yes, Hell," he repeated. His face then went slack and he sighed pitifully, addressing the rest of the party, "What you just saw was a forbidden jutsu, one that can force entry to Hell. I believe it's called a strained opening. He discovered it in an illegal scroll back in Earth country."

"How could you let him learn something like that?" Tsunade screamed at him. She raised a fist threateningly at the pervert who in turn threw his hands up in defense.

"Hey! I had research to do! I couldn't keep an eye on him all the time." She took a menacing step towards him, "I didn't like it either but we both knew that the seal was weakening. Chances were that he would be forced to use this anyway. No mortal can kill the Kyuubi, the fourth proved that, but it is possible to relieve this world of it."

The group fell silent at that, each having their own internal struggle to accept that what just happened may have been for the best.

Sasuke felt an extremely unwanted emotion tighten around his chest. He couldn't put a name to it but it almost felt like...regret? He stared at the pink haired woman who had fallen to her knees in the spot where Naruto was last seen; her arms were wrapped tightly around her body and she rocked herself as her sobs increased. Kakashi knelt down besides her and placed a hand on her shoulder, his eye was dark with his sentiments.

Sasuke shook his head, trying to clear the ludicrous thoughts that he could have ever been a part of those bonds. No, he would not regret his decision.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Naruto felt his body collide against a hard, rocky terrain; pieces of jagged rocks dug into his already shredded back. The sickening scent of sulfur filled his nose and mouth as he cried out in pain. He could still sense the Kyuubi's chakra swirling around him, the beast's presence collected angrily above his stomach. With much effort, he managed to force his eyes open in order to look the Kyuubi dead in those furious, crimson eyes as it once again began to pull free from the seal.

He didn't have the strength or the will to try and fight it. There was no point to it anyhow; Kyuubi wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever again now that damned to Hell. Naruto didn't care what the beast did here—he was dead anyway. At least this way his precious people would be safe.

**"I WILL ADMIT THAT YOU PROVED TO BE AN ADEQUATE FOE...FOR A HUMAN. IT IS A PITY THAT THERE IS NOT MUCH BLOOD LEFT IN YOU TO FEAST ON, BUT I WILL ENJOY TEARING YOUR FLESH FROM YOUR CARCASS NONETHELESS."**

Naruto tried to muster one last defiant glare, but could only blink. Numbness started to seep into his body; the pain seemed very far away now. His vision was fading, his senses shutting down on him as death swooped to take his soul away. Maybe...maybe if he was lucky he would die from blood loss before the Kyuubi completely pulled free of the seal. It sure would save him a lot of pain.

The chakra of the Kyuubi began to flicker and he could sense commotion going on around him. There was a roaring—was it death? He couldn't be sure...everything was so dreamlike...

There was pain in his stomach, but he was feeling fuller if anything. That couldn't be right. The Kyuubi was supposed to be escaping...extracting its revenge...but there was no mistaking—death induced state or not—that the offending demonic chakra outside his body had thinned considerably. Just what the hell was going on?

He thought he could hear a faint crunching sound, as though someone were approaching wearing heavy footing. It was getting so, so hard to hold onto consciousness. There was someone else or somethingelse, here.

A shadow loomed over him just as his eyes closed and he was distantly aware that someone was standing over him, speaking in a half-amused voice.

"A human, huh? Now how the hell did you get here?"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Yay for first chapters!!! Let me know what you think, alrighty? Hopefully this is off to a good start.


	2. Of Wizards and Hanyous

**Chapter 2**

Naruto felt very stiff. That was the first thing that came to mind as he approached wakefulness. The next thing was the scent. It seemed only seconds ago that the acrid taste of hell trounced his senses whereas now it was a mellow and comforting aroma that surrounded him, one that smelled of leather and sage and freshly-turned earth. He let out a weak cough that was all too painful for his rib cage and opened his eyes.

He definitely wasn't in hell. He was in a plain, sparsely furnished room. The walls were a dull taupe and there was a chair in one corner of the room with a slapdash pile of books stacked on top of it. The single window to the left of the small bed he occupied told him it was about mid-afternoon, as the sun was the only thing providing light for him. It appeared he was in someone's bedroom rather than a hospital room and he only could pray they were friendly.

This was the second time in the same day (God, he hoped it was the same day) that he woke up in a completely unfamiliar place. He really needed to do something about that.

His throat felt scraggy and dry and his eyes burned even in the dull light. His head was heavier than he remembered but he managed to lift it a bit so he could better see his body. He was blanketed with a powdered blue comforter which he peeled back with his good arm (his other, the one he recalled being crushed, was in a sling) with slow movements to reveal a heavily bandaged stomach. Where the seal would be was stained red; it must have bled through.

What had happened to the seal? To the Kyuubi?

Naruto desperately wanted to entertain the idea that the Kyuubi escaped him, set free in Hell, and he was rescued there after; that he was a normal human with normal chakra and no misplaces sins. But as an accomplished jinchuuriki he could recognize the familiar heinous chakra swimming through his canals in an instant, mingling with his own pure chakra, and knew the Kyuubi was still within his person.

But the question was how? The seal...it was irreversibly damaged. Not even the fourth could—

The door directly across from his bed opened and Naruto jerked out of his musings to see who his rescuer was.

It was a boy, not much older than himself, maybe by just a few years if he were to guess. He had stark black hair, more messy than his own, that hung over his eyes and wore clothes he was unfamiliar with: a textured dark blue pants beneath a simple but tight grey shirt with a foreign logo of sorts. It was his leathery scent that matched the room along with a hint of tobacco and sage that told him to whom this residence belonged to. The boy's striking green eyes behind rectangular-framed glasses widened.

"Hey there, you're awake."

He spoke with an accent Naruto had heard once or twice before in his travels with Jiraiya. And that voice...he knew it...the same he heard right before he passed out.

"W-where am I?" Naruto cringed at the sound of his voice and the boy smiled sympathetically. He reached behind him and pulled out a long stick. Giving it a short wave a glass appeared out of nowhere, floating about a foot in front of his chest and before his eyes quickly filled itself three-fourths with crushed ice. Well, it looked like ice to him, anyway. The strange boy, still smiling, plucked the glass from the air and walked to the edge of the bed, offering to help him lift his head to take in some of the ice. Naruto looked into his eyes, trying to determine his motives, and saw nothing but sympathy. Good enough for him.

"What the hell was that?! Is that a Jutsu? What's the stick?" Naruto asked after allowing the ice (and it was ice) to moisten his throat without caring to test it for poisons; his voice flowing much smoother than before. The other laughed, and seated himself comfortably on the side of the bed.

"You are awfully lively for someone who was near death only yesterday." —'_damn_,' Naruto thought, '_yesterday...'_— "That was magic, and this," he pulled out the sleek stick which glinted off its polished state to the sunlight, "is my wand. I don't know what a...jutsu is."

Naruto stared at him as though he were an idiot. Magic? Wand? Did he fall out of Hell and into a fairytale? Or did he end up in another part of Hell filled with sugarplums and unicorns and all that crap? And how could he not know what a jutsu was? That sounded a bit too far-fetched for his tastes.

"Where am I?" Naruto repeated, trying to remain calm.

"Um...you're in Salem, Massachusetts." At the blank stare he tried again. "The United States?" Another stare. "North America? Western hemisphere? Earth?"

"Oh! I'm from earth too," Naruto said cheerfully. God only knew what the hell the rest of that was. Now it was the other guy who was staring at him like he was the idiot.

"Eh, we'll work that out later," he decided and held out a calloused hand, "Harry Potter."

Naruto smiled, always willing to make another friend.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied, taking the hand and giving it a light shake. Something that wasn't that easy when he was lying down; he really wanted to sit up but didn't think his stomach would agree with him. Harry cocked his head to the side, amused.

"That's a mouthful."

"Uzumaki is his last name. Naruto is what you call him."

Two sets of eyes snapped to the door where another man, this one a bit older than Harry, was leaning against the doorframe, sipping casually on a canned drink. He had on similar pants to Harry but wore a light green jacket over a white shirt. That wasn't what caught his attention. It was the twin, furred dog-ears poking out of the mess of silver hair, twitching at every sound. That and this guy reeked of demon.

"Damn it Inuyasha, knock you bastard!"

"You kidnapped my wife, I have every reason to barge into your house and drink your last diet coke."

"...you didn't," Harry said quite seriously. Inuyasha shrugged indifferently and Harry leapt from the bed, stalking past him and giving him an unforgiving look as he exited the room. Inuyasha shut the door with his foot and approached the bed, placing the drink next to the bedside table where the half-empty glass of ice was.

Now that he was closer Naruto could see the demonic amber eyes and sharpened canines.

"What are you?" Naruto asked, oblivious to how rude he sounded. Inuyasha wouldn't have been offended even if the statement was meant to insult. The kid was too cute with the large azure eyes and innocent look of wonder.

"I'm a hanyou. Half human and half demon."

Naruto's jaw dropped a bit.

"They come in halves?!"

Inuyasha barked out a laugh, "We come in all kinds. Think of it as an ethnicity of sorts."

Naruto decided then and there that he liked Inuyasha. His instincts agreed with him; something about Inuyasha was warm. He held this timeless aura of wisdom and power but at the same time his presence was inexplicably calming. You just felt safe around him.

The door to the room was kicked open, making Naruto jolt and Inuyasha smirk.

"You fucking liar!" Harry yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Inuyasha while holding an impressive stance that promised pain. A delicate looking hand flew out from behind the irate wizard and slapped him in the back of his head.

"Watch your mouth," a female said sharply, following through the doorway. She was a young woman of average height and above average beauty. Her hair was long and dark and her figure slim. She wore a tanned skirt with blue leggings and a loose blue turtleneck.

"Ow...Kagome..." Harry moaned, rubbing his smarting skull. Kagome ignored him and walked to the other side of the bed, Naruto's eyes following her every move. This one seemed dangerous.

"You should have told me when he woke up in the first place." She said, brushing a hand underneath Naruto's bangs and feeling for his temperature. Naruto couldn't stop his face from blushing; she was very pretty.

"But he did just wake up!" was the whining response.

Kagome sighed and smiled gently at the confused boy.

"Hi," she said softly so as not to frighten him even more. The other two may not have been aware of it, but she could sense the apprehension the boy felt as he was overwhelmed by his situation.

"Kagome, this is Naruto," Inuyasha introduced them, "Naruto, this is my wife, and mate."

"Hi," Naruto mumbled, grinning shyly, "Um...can you tell me how I got here? The last thing I remembered was Hell and the Kyuubi."

"Sure," Kagome said. She had very nice eyes, Naruto concluded, very soft and grey, "I'll just check over your injuries while these two fill you in."

She peeled back the covers a bit and clicked her tongue at the stained bandages. She walked over to the dresser and opened the middle drawer, pulling out some gauze and cleaning solution and returned to his bed, beginning the removal of the old bandages.

"There's not much to tell," Harry started as she worked, "I felt a forced opening in my district, went to check it out, and there you were with some crazy demonic aura around you—"

"Wait," Naruto interrupted, "district?"

"We are guardians to two of the nine gates of Hell," Inuyasha explained, "I'll explain more later."

"Cool..." Naruto whispered. He didn't even know that was a job.

"It was coming from your stomach." Harry continued annoyed at being interrupted, "I didn't really know what to do so I just suppressed it and it went down pretty easy. That's when I saw you had some sort of a seal—one I've never seen or heard of before—but I gathered it had something to do with that demon."

Harry paused and pointed to Naruto's stomach, which was now naked, pink and raw with the fresh skin that grew over the gaping hole that was there hours before. Around his naval was the black marks of the old seal, but there were pieces missing from it, as though someone had taken an eraser to it. On top of that was a new, red seal that intertwined with the original, filling in the blank spaces.

"The seal, how did you fix it?" Naruto asked before hissing as Kagome rubbed some sort of cream over it that cleaned and burned the wound.

"He didn't," Inuyasha interjected, "That seal is hanging on by a thread, kiddo."

Harry nodded and took up his previous seat on the side of the bed.

"Yeah, I'm holding it together with a blood seal, but its not going to last." He saw Naruto's stricken look and was quick to continue, "Calm down, it's got a few good months in it before it snaps. We'll think of something before then."

"So how did I get here?"

"Well, after I took care of the demon issue I brought you to my apartment, which is here, and got Kagome to heal you. You were a mess."

Naruto grinned, abashed, and scratched the side of his face with his index finger.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't expect to survive that. Thanks."

Kagome sighed and stood back, having finished her work.

"Well you heal fast, but I wouldn't move around for a bit. You've suffered severe blood loss. I managed to mend most of the bones in your arm but the rest of the healing is going along a bit slow."

Naruto nodded his thanks and struggled to sit up. His stomach muscles were completely shot so he had to rely on his left arm to lift himself.

"Did you not just hear me? Don't move!" Kagome yelled, swatting at her husband and Harry who had both broken out into loud guffaws.

"I don't like...talking to...ugg...people...while I'm horizontal," Naruto finished, finally managing to set himself against the headboard of the bed with a pleased sigh. He could see that he still had on his orange pants and chose this time to wonder if his jacket survived.

"This kid's fun! He stays," Inuyasha declared. Kagome rubbed her temples, afraid that they just took in another strange one.

"So, Naruto, care to tell me what you were doing in hell?" the priestess asked. Naruto, who was grinning—albeit a little hesitantly—at Inuyasha's declaration, stilled and his face slacked as his mind took him back to yesterday morning. He remembered his elation at finally saving Sasuke, the pain as Kyuubi was ripped from his stomach. He remembered Sakura's face as he was pulled into hell; as if she herself were in absolute agony having to watch another teammate taken from her. He never wanted to see that look on her ever again.

"I...It's a really long story."

The heartache in his voice was unmasked and his face only reflected his inner turmoil. The three other occupants of the room shared a look over his head.

"Why don't we get you something to eat? It's nearing dinner time anyway." Kagome said rubbing his shoulder; a gesture that nearly shocked Naruto out of the bed as it was so rare to be physically consoled. "You can tell us as we eat."

Naruto smiled weakly and nodded while Kagome gave Harry a pointed look.

"Sure, sure, but all I really have at the moment is instant ramen. I don't do groceries, 'cause I'm a bachelor."

"Don't let Bridget hear you say that," Inuyasha warned teasingly. Harry sniffed, pretending not to hear, and left the room.

"R-ramen?" Naruto asked hopefully. His mouth was already salivating at the thought of the delectably salty broth and his stomach growled loudly, bringing his attention to his unfed state. Inuyasha looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You like it?"

"Like it? It's my soul mate!" Naruto yipped, the sparkle back in his eye.

"Oh no," Kagome moaned, dropping her face into her hands. It was definitely another strange one; he would fit right in with Inuyasha and Harry.

Inuyasha was grinning madly.

"I really, really like you." He said, happy that there was one more person in the world who could appreciate the deity that was ramen. "Like...more than my wife."

"W-what?" Naruto stuttered, his ramen induced jubilation dissipating quickly as he pressed his back against the headboard.

"Inuyasha," Kagome snapped warningly. She turned to soothe Naruto, "He was just being an imbecile."

"I meant my other wife," Inuyasha assured her. Kagome gave him a dirty look. "I mean the first one...or...five...or...you know what? I'll just shut up now."

Naruto chuckled at the couple's antics and rubbed his bare arms, which were starting to raise goose bumps with the approaching dusk. There was something off about him, and yes, he could feel the seal was off, but there was something missing on his person…

Naruto slapped his hand to his neck, his eyes wide as he realized just what was absent.

"Where's—"

"Its right here, sweetie," Kagome said, already predicting this and took out the first's necklace from the top drawer of the dresser, "It was so pretty and I didn't want to damage it while I was healing you."

"Thank you," Naruto said gratefully, taking it from her and slipping it over his head. It rested coolly on its rightful place beneath his collarbone. He may be light-years away from his home, but at least the necklace kept him connected to Konoha and the people he cared about in some way.

The door opened for the umpteenth time that day and in came a heavenly sight: Harry...with a tray filled with cup ramen.

"Did you really need to make that many?" Kagome asked, staring at the many cups of ramen that seemed a bit excessive for just four people. Well, in her opinion anyway.

"Yes." Three voices replied.

"Alright," she sighed, shaking her head at the loosing battle she always tried to fight, "talk away."

And talk he did...after they explained to him how to use a fork. In between mouthfuls of noodles he could feel his strength returning to him; his chakra was granted the much needed fuel to begin healing him properly. Naruto was interrupted quite a few times and was even forced to start at the very beginning: explaining the world of shinobis and the circumstances around the sealing of Kyuubi, of him being a jinchuuriki. He talked about Orochimaru and Sasuke, about the Akatsuki and his capture; about the forbidden jutsu he used that landed him in Hell. By the end of his tale it was pitch black outside and the hardwood floor was littered with styrofoam cups and a few cold noodles.

Kagome had tears in her eyes.

"You...you poor thing!" she leapt at him, smothering him in her arms. He was very tricky and evasive about his upbringing, mentioning just enough to know that jinchuuriki were feared and hated. But she could pick up on enough hints to know that his childhood wasn't that different from Harry's or Inuyasha's. And after all that struggling...he sacrificed himself to bring those people peace. It was so sad!

"Um..." Naruto's face was cherry red as she smothered his face in her breast.

"What...what...?" Inuyasha sputtered as his wife went all emotional on them.

"Maybe she's pregnant again," Harry whispered to Inuyasha, who gave the wizard a dead look before bopping him on the head. Fortunately, Kagome didn't hear this and pulled away from the young ninja, wiping her eyes dry.

"Sorry. I just don't like it went sweet people have hard lives."

Naruto smiled and shrugged it off, "It's cool. But how am I going to get back? I need to tell everyone I'm not dead. Baa-chan is probably going stir crazy thinking I bit it."

"Eh, it may not be so cool." Inuyasha said carefully while thinking hard on the matter. "From both your stories I'd say you're from a parallel world to this one, one that has shinobi as the leading military power. And to tell you the truth I don't know how we're going to get you back..."

"What?" There was an edge of fear in Naruto's voice. If he couldn't get back then how...oh wait, he did return Sasuke to Sakura so...no! He had to be Hokage!

"Don't worry," Harry assured him, "We'll figure it out and we'll fix the seal properly. We always do...at the last minute."

"Okay..." Naruto said without conviction.

Kagome looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh crap! I told Bridget that I'd be back two hours ago."

"So?" Harry said, "She's fifteen, she'll be fine."

"No, no, I left her with Cal."

"Oh."

Kagome gave Inuyasha a quick peck on the lips that he didn't even have time to respond to before turning to Naruto.

"I'm sorry for having to leave you here with these two. I hope to see you again soon!" she ran out the door, leaving the three males in silence.

"How the hell does she think she's getting home? I shadow-walked her here."

Inuyasha looked at Harry.

"You want to go help her out, then?"

"Nah. I think I'll let her figure it out on her own."

Harry hooked an arm around Naruto's neck and leaned across the bed towards Inuyasha.

"So...can I keep him?"

"...keep me?!"

"You've got a strange taste in pets, kid."

"Pleeeaase? I've always wanted a ninja my very own." Harry pouted, grabbing Naruto's face with the hand that wasn't slung around his shoulders and squeezing the younger boy's cheeks, "I mean, just look at this face."

Naruto was too sore to properly struggle away.

"He he...he is cute." Inuyasha said fondly while ruffling the dirty blond hair.

"W-what the hell is wrong with you people? I'm not some damn pet! Dattebayo!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Yes, Harry Potter is a diet coke addict. It's not strange; there are many in this world, myself included. Though I am trying to wean myself off it a bit using seltzer...

I would also like to thank all those who reviewed and decided to give this a shot. I know its asking a lot and there are plenty of people who were disappointed this was going to be a crossover so thanks for giving it a read. :D

**To those who haven't read Millennium, etc. and don't plan on it:** it's the year 2005—Inuyasha is old and experience since he lived through all the times and is the guardian to the seventh gate of Hell. He recently found Kagome (they separated in the feudal era after a fight) and ended up with her. He found Harry when he was almost sixteen and trained him to fight demons and eventually Harry became the guardian of the ninth gate of Hell. And Kagome's in her late twenties. And Shadow-walking is a different form of traveling Harry uses instead of apparation.

More details should be explained throughout the fic.

**To Millennium veterans:** There's a reason why Naruto couldn't sense Harry's demon blood, it's nothing too complicated.


	3. Bad News Bears

**Chapter 3**

Sasuke stared inertly out the window of the Hokage tower wondering how it all went wrong. Orochimaru was supposed to be the strongest sannin; he was supposed to give him the power to defeat his brother no matter the cost. But here he was, back in Konoha, with Orochimaru dead and his revenge still dictating his life. And Naruto...where did the dead last get that kind of power? It looked as if he were taking down the Kyuubi itself. Sasuke didn't know what upset him more: the thought of Naruto being more powerful than him after all he sacrificed, or the fact that he'll never get to find out being that Naruto was...dead.

He looked back at the gathered assembly in the Hokage's office. The Hokage herself was sitting behind her desk with a bottle of sake resting shamelessly before her and a half-filled cup in her hand. Her assistant, Shizune, was standing loyally next to her, but her eyes were unseeing as she repeatedly ran a hand over her pig's head. There were clear tear tracks glistening on both her cheeks. His eyes roamed to the other side of the room where the other sannin, Jiraiya, was seated on a chair against the wall, hunched over with his elbows on his knees and his forehead balancing on the heels of his palms. Then there was Kakashi. His old sensei kept sending him looks which varied between disappointment and condemnation. His porn book was no where to be seen for once; he just kept his hands in his pockets and waited patiently for the rest of the rookie nine and Team Gai to arrive as called.

The last person in the room, standing right next to him but a good five feet away, was Sakura. The girl hadn't said a word to him since the tragedy he witnessed nor did she look at him, making it very hard to discern what her feelings were at this time. He knew she was quite smitten with him three years ago, but the girl had obviously grown since then; in power and in mind. Therefore, seeing her fall apart as she did when Naruto disappeared into Hell left him with the uncomfortable feeling that the two had moved on without him. The last he remembered was that Sakura couldn't stand the dead last, let alone cry for him.

The door was opened without consent.

"Alright! We're here, so what's the..." Kiba's voice trailed off from his boorish entrance and could literally feel his jaw unhinge. There was a missing-nin in the middle of the Hokage's office. One he was quite familiar with.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino gasped, seeing her former crush. Of course she had gotten over him after he betrayed the village...but maybe he came back on his own to make amends. Everyone present was frozen, staring at the famed Uchiha with mixed reactions of awe, happiness and disturbance. Gai turned his gaze to his rival, expecting to see some joy or satisfaction at retrieving his rogue student, and was surprised to meet a cold and sorrowful stare.

"As you can see, we have managed to retrieve Sasuke at the hands of Orochimaru," excited whispering broke out among the younger ones and Tsunade's hand clenched around the wooden cup, causing a crack to run through it, "However...it was not without casualties..." Tsunade wanted to say more but her throat constricted painfully and she was forced to put a hand over her eyes.

"Where is Naruto?" Neji asked slowly, his pale eyes searching in vain through the gathered people. He took in Kakashi's broken state, Jiraiya-sama's uncharacteristically quiet form and Sakura, whose bangs were now shadowing her face, her fists clenched and shoulders shaking.

"Sakura..." Ino whispered, taking a step towards her friend. She didn't understand what was going on. It's not like Naruto was a casualty right? He was always so...indestructible.

It was clear that Tsunade would not, or could not, say anymore on the matter.

"He..." the pink-haired medic began in a raspy voice, "They took him. The Akatsuki..."

This was met with a multitude of gasps and angry cries; the nine others were informed of the Akatsuki, but not of what they wanted with Naruto.

"Akatsuki," Shikamaru hissed. If there was anything that could get the normally laid-back Chuunin riled up it was the group of terrorists that killed Asuma. Hey may have gotten his revenge on Hidan, but the simple mention of them still managed to spike his fury.

"W-what...you're saying that N-Naruto-Kun is d-dead..." Hinata whimpered, her knees giving out a little and falling back into Shino.

"We didn't get there in time," Sakura continued, ignoring everything around her. Her head had lifted, revealing the tears running silently down her face as her veil of hair parted. "They...he...he was dying, but he was still fighting. He wouldn't let them have the demon...his stomach was torn open and there was so, so much blood..."

'_...so much blood...'_

Tsunade stiffened, hearing the familiar words that she uttered so many years ago. She did not want her student following down the same path as she did; making the same mistakes. Standing from her seat and walking around her desk, she stepped in front of Sakura and held her shoulders.

"Sakura, look at me," she commanded but Sakura closed her eyes and began shaking her head.

"No...he's dead...after all he said...he was supposed to be Hokage someday..."

Tenten was crying as well at this point, both from the news of Naruto's death and Sakura's heartbroken state. Not even Ino or any of team ten broke down this way when Asuma died. Then again, it was different for team seven; at least Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino always had each other for support. Team seven was so derelict, each of them off training with a sannin and separated by miles, so much so that they needed to cling whoever they could for support. With the Uchiha completely remote and Kakashi so distant and aloof, Naruto was all she had emotionally.

"Sakura," Ino tried again, approaching once more but shivering slightly, the insinuations leaving her shaken. She had never seen Sakura hysterical like this before. Perhaps the loss of one more teammate was all it took to make her snap.

"I just had to make him make that promise..."

"Listen to yourself. You need to calm down, this isn't your fault."

"Don't you get it?" Sakura screamed at her, wrenching free from Tsunade's grip. Half the rookies jumped at the directness. "I left him there! I _LEFT_ HIM! I LEFT HIM LIKE EVERYONE ELSE HAS!"

A slap sounded and everything stilled; fourteen sets of eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets and even Jiraiya had lifted his head for the first time. Sakura raised a shaky hand to her stinging cheek, staring at her master in disbelief.

"Shishou..."

"Everyone is in part fault for this," Tsunade replied sternly. It was true that all she really wanted to do was to curl up on her bed and mourn the loss of another loved one to that damnable necklace, but right now her apprentice needed her to be strong, "but do you really think Naruto would want you to mourn him like this?"

Sakura swallowed and her mind cleared a bit as she realized she was being rather selfish. She did need to think what Naruto would want rather than how she felt.

"Even if you were there, do you really think you could have stopped the Akatsuki from taking him? At full strength you wouldn't have stood a chance. There was nothing we could have done. Instead we should be thankful that Naruto managed to keep the Kyuubi from their grasp—it had to have made a significant dent in the Akatsuki's plans."

"So it's true then? Naruto-kun is really gone?" Lee asked with large watery eyes. He admired Naruto—a fellow hard worker striving to beat the gifted through sheer strong will alone. It was truly tragic when such youth was wasted...especially a close friend.

"How...?" Shino muttered, still helping his emotionally distraught teammate stand.

"No," Kiba said with false cheer, "That kid...he could never go down like that...I mean, he's Naruto…right?"

Jiraiya sighed, finally standing from his silent corner, "It's appreciated, the kind of faith you have in him. It would have made him very...happy. But I regret to inform you that Naruto is...he pulled himself into Hell, taking with him the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

"What?"

"The Kyuubi's dead!"

"The hell? What are you talking about old man?"

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade hissed. The toad hermit waved a dismissive hand at the busty female.

"Its time someone told them." He said. He saw Kurenai and Gai look at him apprehensively, both seeming unsure whether they wanted their students informed of this, "I believe we should have as much faith in them as they did in Naruto."

"Very well," Tsunade agreed, plopping back down in her seat and filling another cup of much needed sake.

"Tell us what?" Chouji asked, roughly rubbing an eye to make sure he wasn't crying. He hadn't even noticed his bag of chips on the floor; he had dropped them when he first saw Sasuke and his attention had been completely occupied since.

"The Kyuubi cannot be killed by mortals." Jiraiya stated bluntly. "In fact, no bijuu can as far as we know, let alone the nine-tails. The fourth did not kill him. He did the best he could and sealed it away at the expense of his life. But all he did was bought us more time."

"He sealed it into Naruto," Shikamaru stated, having suspected something of that sort for years.

"Sealed in Naruto?" Ino repeated, exchanging an alarmed look with Chouji. She wasn't the only one. The other uninformed chuunin buzzed; confusion and disquiet mixed thickly with a regretful understanding; the jounin carefully gauged the reactions of their students.

"I remember when I first saw him at the Akatsuki's base...he had the red eyes and fangs...the lines on his face were thick," Tenten muttered, thinking back to her encounter with him a couple months ago, "I thought it was just a jutsu or my mind playing tricks on me."

"There was always something off about his scent...Akamaru noticed it too," Kiba stated slowly. Shino shifted besides him.

"Hn...my bugs sensed it too...ever since I first met him in the academy."

"The red chakra..." Neji muttered, everything clicking in his mind from the chuunin exams three years prior.

"_You could never understand what its like to be burdened with a symbol you could never rid yourself of!!!"_

'_I'm so sorry Naruto...for not understanding,' _Neji thought, closing his eyes as they burned with the threat of tears. He was really blind for someone with such an advanced Byakugan.

"He pulled the Kyuubi into Hell by using a forbidden jutsu," Tsunade said in a hollow voice. She was feeling pleasantly numb at the moment, though it was sure to pass quickly. "He was sacrificed at birth and sacrificed in death. This time around, we'll be sure that he is seen as a hero."

Her words brought forth a fresh bout of tears for a few individuals, along with resolute and proud visages on the others.

"I-I always s-saw him as a hero..." Hinata hiccupped quietly, her fingers gripping onto Shino's jacket to keep herself upright, "long b-before I knew about the K-Kyuubi."

"Hai," Lee sniffed, rubbing his bandaged forearm across his nose, "He inspired hope in everyone, even those that had long given up on themselves. Whether the people accept him or not, he will always be a hero to those that matter."

Light grins and nodding rippled through the crowd.

Jiraiya nodded at his words. "I'm glad you see things that way; it was a good decision to tell you everything. However, I'm afraid I must once again burden you with some more bad news."

This caught Tsunade, Sakura and Kakashi's interest, as they were unaware of anything worse happening.

"The Akatsuki's goal is to collect and control every sealed beast, and then use them to start and stop wars. Every country will have to depend on them financially and they will control the shinobi labor. Ultimately, they are set on world domination."

The news of Naruto's death had left them distressed and in tears, but the added information of finding that their very freedom was in jeopardy had left their hearts frozen in their chests. Even Sasuke was staring at the sannin in stunned disbelief.

"What?" Tsunade said sharply. "Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"My intelligence just came by this information recently. If it weren't for the latest events you would have known by now."

"Still should have told me before then," she muttered but let it go. She rubbed her eyes with one hand. "What do you suppose we do about this?"

Jiraiya looked at the gathered chuunins and jounins, looked at their questioning and somewhat expectant faces, as if he had a solution. "Unless you know someone who can defeat a bijuu, there's nothing we can do."

A heavy silence settled over the group and Tsunade could feel the weight of their expectations along with the guilt of Naruto's death pressing heavily on her mind. Finally, after much consideration, she spoke.

"You will all return to your duties and will speak nothing of what you heard today; this includes the Akatsuki's plans, Sasuke's return and...Naruto. I will approach the counsel with this matter and will move on from there."

"But Hokage-sama, what about Naruto...?" Kakashi asked, finally speaking.

"That..." she swallowed and pressed on, "I'm afraid a memorial service for him will have to wait."

Sakura looked angrily at her though blood shot eyes but Tsunade continued speaking.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you will undergo interrogation by Morino Ibiki until he deems you fit to be released. Afterwards you will be put under triple probation as well as under constant ANBU surveillance. You are to remain within Konoha's walls at all times and will only be allowed on missions until I decide you have proven your loyalty. Even then, they will be D ranks. You will earn your right to reinstate yourself as a shinobi of this village, do I make myself clear?"

"But what about my brother?" Sasuke hissed, furious with the terms but not all that surprised. Some of the shinobi present thought the sentencing was a bit harsh while other's thought it well deserved—namely those sent on his retrieval mission three years ago.

"You should have thought of that before you chose the cowards way for power."

The muscles in Sasuke's jaw tightened as his teeth clenched.

'_Damn that Naruto,'_ he thought, his mind choosing the easiest way to place the blame for the unfortunate turn of events. Even in death the blond still tormented him.

"Dismissed. Kakashi, Sakura, I'll trust you to escort Uchiha to the interrogation quarters."

"Hai."

The ninjas filed out of the room via the door or just teleported. Jiraiya exited through the window, as was his usual egress, without so much as a glance towards his former teammate. Tsunade sighed heavily and seated herself once she was sure everyone was gone. Only then, in the sanctity of isolation, did she allow herself to cry.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The three members of team seven walked the halls of the Hokage tower in an uncomfortable silence. Kakashi walked rather stiffly and slightly ahead of the younger two. A part of him wanted to look back at them, to see how Sakura was holding up, if her tears had dried, and also to shout at Sasuke, to shake the ungrateful little—no, it was best not to let such thoughts be call to mind until everything had settled down.

Sakura's eyes alternated between staring blankly ahead and glancing at her former teammate. Sasuke walked along side of her emitting a strong aura of bitterness and loathing. His face was arranged into an ugly scowl and glared hatefully at anyone who happened to pass them. His irritation seemed to grow as he found it more and more difficult to ignore and unreadable looks Sakura kept shooting at him.

"What?" he finally snarled harshly out of the corner of his mouth. Sakura seemed to jump out of her musings at the sound of his voice. Her jaw worked itself a couple time as if she were searching for the right words. She new exactly what she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure she was prepared to say it. It would be admitting a lot of things that she had been trying to ignore for many, many years.

"If you have something to say to me then just say it."

Though he didn't turn around, Kakashi was listening intently to the pair behind him, curious as to how Sakura would handle this.

Sakura thought, for the briefest of moments, that she would spare Sasuke of her emotions and continue hole everything up inside for the remainder of their walk. But one look at that spiteful, arrogant, condescending visage was enough to gather up all the righteous anger and grief within her and surpass one of her greatest obstacles.

"I wanted you back." She started out by stating, her voice quiet and emotionless, her eyes overshadowed by the drapes of her hair. She had Sasuke's attention at least. "I wanted you back so bad so that we could all be together again..."

The group had come to a stop two floors above their destination. Kakashi had turned around to watch them by now.

"...but not at this price..." her shoulders began shaking and she finally raised her face to him allowing the florescent ceiling lights to wash over her pale complexion. Fresh tears were alight in her eyes as she hissed out the most painful truth.

"_You weren't worth him!_"

Sasuke looked stricken, as if there were some underlying meaning Sakura uttered that she wasn't even aware of. Kakashi's one eye had revealed his shock as well as his pride, feeling as though she had done Naruto some sort of justice. Sakura had come along way since he first listened to her squeal out her dreams four years ago; though it was unfortunate what she had to go through to make it this far. The greatest achievements within a person are often born of the greatest losses.

Sasuke's hands were clenched at his sides, his teeth grinding, as he glared at the pink haired girl who was meeting his gaze with equal contempt. Despite the tough exterior she was holding up, Sakura felt like she was breaking down inside more than ever. She felt drained, she wanted to curl up and forget everything.

"Sakura, I'll take him the rest of the way. Go home." Kakashi said, picking up on her high distress.

"Th-thank you sensei." She managed before bolting from the building. The two sharingan wielders walked in silence for the rest of the way—both left to stew in their separate thoughts.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The clock seated on the wall overhead two conversing individuals struck eleven O'clock, letting out three small chimes before falling silent for the next half-hour.

"Amazing...a kid like him creating a strained opening to hell. Those are pretty hard to pull off, right?"

"Yeah. But there are many, many different ways to force an opening. I only know a handful of them myself."

"So? What are we going to do about this?" Harry asked Inuyasha in a hushed tone as his yellow tinted glasses showed him the sleeping foreigner through the wall separating them.

"I have an idea." Inuyasha replied, earning him the younger man's attention. "Give me a couple days and I'll see what I can do. I need to scope things out in his world first; figure out what the deal is with this Akatsuki and everything. I can't just send him back there like this."

"Wait...you said he couldn't get back."

"I'm not sure that he can. But I think I know how I can. Just give me a while. Do you mind if he stays?"

"No." Harry said, looking back at the boy again, "I think we'd get on well enough."

"Good. Just make him comfortable. Distract him please; he's got to have a lot on his mind right now."

"Poor kid." Harry sighed, running a hand through midnight hair, "He's got to be what? Fifteen? Sixteen? It must have been hell."

"Hmm..." Inuyasha looked at Harry shrewdly, "About the same age you were when I found you huh?"

Harry glared at his mentor, recognizing that calculating look. "So?"

The hanyou gave a half smirk and shrugged.

"Nothing, just a hunch, that's all."

"What are you talking about—?"

"I've got to go." Inuyasha replied walking away. Harry growled frustrated and followed him.

"Can you at least explain to me how the hell you're going to get over there?"

"The same way he got here...only backwards."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Don't worry; I know where I'm going with this...I think. I'll be jumping back and forth between the different worlds so you know what's up with everyone. And I'll try to keep everyone in character --

Again I greatly appreciate those of you who have decided to give this a shot, and I love the feedback I'm getting.

Next chapter will be up in about a week!


	4. City of Beans

**Chapter 4**

Naruto stood in front of the bathroom mirror staring at his gaunt reflection. He was so pale it nearly frightened him. His eyes were grey and sunken in and his wan skin was jacketed with numerous angry-red blemishes. He could only surmount that they were the slowly healing remnants of his previous injuries and figured that they would be gone by the next day. Swallowing, he slowly, as his stomach was still healing from yesterday, made his way over to the shower and turned on the tap. He hissed as he stepped into the hot water. His body adjusted to the temperature and he began to relax, happy to get rid of the dried blood that was caked all over.

It was time to mull over his situation. He was trapped in a strange world with strange people (Kagome was alright, but the other two...) and no way home. His friends thought he was dead and Sasuke...they may have gotten him away from Orochimaru but Sasuke needed him now more than anything. Naruto still felt they were friends despite all that happened between them and he knew that the old Sasuke, the Sasuke who was willing to sacrifice himself to save Naruto from a mist-nin without a second thought, was still in that shell of a body waiting to be saved. He needed to get back to help him.

Sakura was a whole other matter herself. He was afraid that leaving her as he did would traumatize her; after all, since he returned to Konoha they had been steadily growing closer. They relied on each other to the point where they almost felt incomplete standing alone. The only consolation he got was that he had returned Sasuke and maybe, as much as it pained him to think it, she could move on with the avenger, like she had always wanted.

Once he was sure he was clean of any nasty substances he finished up his shower. With a towel wrapped around his waist he made his way back to the guest bedroom (the room he woke up in) and began to put on the clothes Harry left out for him. What was left of his training outfit was not wearable and Harry searched through his closets for something smaller that would fit Naruto.

He started with normal boxers and then put on the navy denim pants—jeans as he had learned they were called—that fit quite nicely on his hips for a guessed fit and was loose around the legs. Next was a normal long-sleeved shirt that was a bit tighter than he was used to (of course most of his clothes were pretty baggy) but didn't quite hug his body. He ran a hand through his still wet hair and sighed, feeling refreshed. His stomach tightened uncomfortably on him and he realized he was well due for some breakfast. Using his nose, he followed Harry's personal scent though the substantial apartment into the kitchen, where the young wizard was seated at a small table eating cereal and reading a newspaper titled _The Bewitched Kibitz_. Naruto quickly dismissed it as a trick of the light but for a moment he could have sworn he saw the headline picture move.

"Morning," Harry said brightly as the blond walked in. "You feeling better?

"Much, thanks."

Harry nodded, "Good. Well, I've got to run to the ministry, wanna come?"

Kagome would kill him if she knew he was letting the boy out of the house while still bearing injuries. But what she didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Uh...sure..." Naruto answered, not completely following him but found it was better than sitting in some stranger's home. Harry folded the newspaper and put it down.

"It would probably be good for you to see how this world runs anyway, since you could be here for a while. Coco puffs?" He picked up a brown box with a cartoon bird and shook it a little. "Do you have coco puffs where you're from?"

Naruto gave him a dark look at the slow tone he was speaking to him with.

"No, but we have cereal." He said shortly but sat down anyway as Harry got up to get him a bowl and spoon.

"So why are we going to the ministry?" Naruto asked before taking an unhesitant bite of the new cereal. A sudden explosion of chocolaty goodness went off in his mouth and he was eager to shovel in more. Harry seemed unaware of the new love connection before him.

"I need to drop off some reports about some demons I was hired to off. Before the ministry was reformatted I could just kill as I pleased, but noooo...now that they know what I do they have to know how I do it and for who I do it and keep records on everything. Bloody bitches. I do get paid more though..."

Naruto forced a large mouthful of coco delish down throat so he could speak, "Oh! Like us ninjas have to do after each mission!"

"Sure...if you say so. You're going to have to teach me more about your ninja culture."

"Fine, later, but why was the ministry reformatted?"

"Well...we had a close brush with the apocalypse a few years back...demons were exposed to humans because before then the majority of humans were unaware of their existence. Also the wizarding world, which used to be hidden from muggles—er, non-magic people that is—that was exposed too. There was a lot of controversy then...well there still is today really...things are still kind of messy and I don't think we'll have any real stability for another couple decades. That's how bad it was. And Inuyasha died."

Naruto choked a bit on a coco-puff. "What? The Inuyasha from yesterday?"

"Yeah. Anyway," Harry said, clearly planning on not explaining, much to Naruto's annoyance, "we should get going since these were due...eh, about two weeks ago I'd say. You know what shadow walking is?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Of course you don't. Well stand up and hold onto my arm. And no matter what you feel don't let go and run away. Merlin knows where you'll land."

"Where is the ministry?" Naruto asked as he pushed away from the table. "Is it far?"

"In Boston. An hour's drive from here I'd say, but this will only take a couple seconds."

"Boston?"

"It's the capital city in Massachusetts...Okay, you know what? We're just going to get you a map and we'll spend an entire day going over the geography. You'll like Boston. It's loud."

"Cool—wait...hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Naruto never received an answer as the room around him swirled out of existence. His vision clouded and his body felt weightless, but he was fully conscious. He could still feel Harry's arm underneath his fingers but he couldn't see anything let alone the man besides him. And then suddenly the world came back into focus again, gravity returned and connected his now solid body to the ground. People surrounded him. Chatting and honking filled his ears. Every scent imaginable reached his nose, smoke being the most perceptible.

"Welcome, to Boston...the city of beans." Harry giggled a little at himself but Naruto was hardly paying attention.

"Wow..." Naruto breathed at the huge skyscrapers and hundreds of noisy metal and glass boxes with people in them that surrounded him. Harry turned his vision from the chipped green lamppost a block away, the one that would take them to the American Ministry of Magic, to the completely awestruck teenager besides him. Something told him this would be the longest block of sidewalk he would ever have to walk.

"I'm going to have to explain absolutely everything to you, aren't I?"

Naruto managed to tear his eyes away from a Hotel's revolving doors and focused on Harry with a very fox-like grin.

"Believe it."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Inuyasha stepped away from the closing ground beneath his feet; the chilling foreboding air that rose from the pits of Hell was cut off and left to melt into the warm air of fire country. In truth he was a bit surprised that it worked; going into to Hell and exiting via another dimension. It was a dangerous way to travel...the couple centuries of guardian experience had really pulled through—Harry certainly wouldn't be able to pull that off. But he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The hanyou took in his surroundings appreciatively, noting the full foliage and clean air. He knew right off the bat that this world's ozone was perfectly intact.

"And Konoha would be..." He spun on his heel, his nose twitching, and stopped as he face southwest, his arm outstretched and finger pointing to a throng of trees, "that way."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"I want to drive a car! They look so cool and they go faster than I've ever seen a ninja run. Do you have a car? You can drive, right?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair as the blond next to him chattered incessantly. They were currently walking down the pristine halls of the ministry to the Office of Demonic Liaison and Control.

"I have a motorcycle that I inherited. I hardly ever use it though."

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, making his trademark fox face. "Motorcycle...oh! Those two wheeled ones?"

"Yeah," Harry replied turning left, "maybe I'll show you how to drive it, if you stop talking for five minutes."

"Okay."

"I mean starting now."

"Okay," Naruto whispered, ducking his head as if that would make his voice even smaller.

"Whispering is still talking, idiot!" Harry near shouted as he shoved open a plain office door. The secretary present jumped a bit at the extreme entrance then quickly regained her composure at the sight of the first man.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," she said overly-kindly with a soft blush. Harry merely grunted the return greeting and dropped the stack of papers on her desk.

"Sorry they're late," he muttered casually; the line slipped from his lips as though it were well versed. The secretary seemed unfazed by his lack of professionalism and continued to admire the famous man.

Naruto looked from the blushing woman to Harry's clear indifference and was reminded of how Sasuke used to act around his fan club.

"Hi ma'am," he spoke up with a sweet smile on his face. The women blinked out of her stupor at the sound of his voice and seemed to notice him for the first time.

One of the things about traveling with Jiraiya that he would always love was the complete lack of ignorance regarding his presence. He could intermingle with people, hold small conversations with strangers, waitresses, shop owners...and be treated like a human being. When no one knew of the Kyuubi, he felt like he belonged with that race.

"Hi there, cutie," she replied graciously causing him to sweep a hand behind his head and grin bashfully, "are you here with Mr. Potter?"

"Eh? Oh, Harry. Yeah. He's showing me around since I'm new around here."

The woman's face, which at one point seemed genially interested, rapidly brightened. Her eyes widened with glee as she fixed her gaze on him, sizing him up.

"Oh my God!" she suddenly gushed, leaning so far forwards across the desk that her butt was lifted from her seat. "Are you his _apprentice_?"

The sheer, abrupt attention that she was showering on him was enough to knock him a step back. Her look was almost predatory. He recognized that particular hunger in her eyes—it was the same Ino got when she was about to learn a new piece of particularly juicy gossip.

"Apprentice...what? I don't—"

"I don't have an apprentice, calm down," Harry cut in dully, saving Naruto from a very confusing situation. Naruto witnessed the woman's excitement die into a hearty face of disappointment and she settled once more in her chair. "Come on, it's time to go Naruto."

"A-alright, it was nice to meet you ma'am," Naruto said as he gave a quick bow to the woman and sped out the door behind Harry. He pulled himself along stride with the man, making sure to stick close. These people were freaking crazy in this world! But hey, it wasn't his fault he never had any parents to tell him _not to talk to strangers_.

"She was, uh, nice..." Naruto said a little awkwardly. "What was her name again?"

"I dunno."

Naruto frowned. Yes, the woman terrified him, but she seemed to be friendly enough and knew who Harry was obviously well.

"How many times have you spoken to that woman before in your life?"

"Oh, a couple times a month for the last two years or so. Why?"

"And you didn't even know her name?" Naruto asked displeasingly. Harry just shrugged indifferently and continued walking.

"Then can you at least tell me what the hell was up with that?" Naruto burst, waving an arm back behind him in the direction of the office they just left. Harry grinned uneasily at him.

"Er, yeah...you know how I told you that demon hunting was relatively new...well demon hunting is taught through apprenticeships. Most demon hunters work with an agency and are taught the basics and such—but they're pretty much mediocre. They don't cost as much to hire as the really good ones. The really elite demon hunters are known for being extremely picky about whom they deem worthy to train—which they should as very few people have what it takes to excel in the job. What you need to know is that Inuyasha and I are the best of the best. I was Inuyasha's apprentice. Still am, really. Anyway, we're pretty notorious around the world after the incident with the apocalypse and everything a few years back, and if one of us were to actually take on an apprentice...well...you can imagine how big the press would make that out to be."

He looked over to his left to see Naruto staring at him wide eyed.

"Wow..." the younger whispered, swallowing the information that the people who rescued him happened to be so powerful and eminent.

"Heh, yeah."

"You need to tell me more about that." Naruto demanded, "What about your apprenticeship with Inuyasha? How did that happen?"

"Uh..." Harry ran a hand through his hair, "It involves a prophecy and, well, I'll tell you about that some other time. We'll talk later and exchange some stories. I have a feeling there was plenty you left out last night."

"Eh...heh heh heh..." Naruto laughed weakly at his pointed look as he scratched his birthmarks with his forefinger. He had tried to stick to the facts and leave out the reasons to why things happened, such as the feelings of betrayal, revenge, unrequited love, and jealousy that spurred so many events. "So are you going to show me that motor-thingy or what?"

Harry rolled his eyes at the abrupt change of subject.

"You weren't quiet for five minutes."

The wizard smirked while enjoying the aghast look on the younger boy's face.

"Aw, come on! Gimme a break here. I'm new to this world, remember? I can't be calm at a time like this! Especially with you crazies jumping at me and hugging me all the damn time!" Naruto whined. Maybe if he whined enough Harry would concede. It usually worked on Baa-chan anyway. Harry sighed and blew his bangs up and out of his eyes. Naruto caught a glimpse of a lightning shaped scare across the smooth skin of his forehead before the hair settled once more.

"Aren't ninja's supposed to be silent?" Harry grumbled.

"They are?" Naruto asked in the perfect imitation of bewilderment. "Since when?"

Harry shook his head seeing the impish glint those cerulean eyes. This kid was quite a character.

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

Naruto grinned. "Yep. So what are we gunna do next?"

"Well, I suppose Bridget wants to meet you."

"Ah, the infamous Bridget." Naruto muttered, rubbing his chin as he thought back to the few time she was mentioned yesterday. From what he gathered she was around his age and had Harry whipped.

He liked her already.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"Sakura...Sakura...open the door right now Sakura." Haruno Yori demanded half-heartedly. "_Please_."

She had spent the better part of that morning trying to coax her daughter out of her room. The girl had been holed in there since she returned yesterday evening and it was nearing lunch time. She had briefly heard through rumor that the Uchiha was returned and that the 'demon boy' had died in the process. Of course it was just one of the many rumors flying around this morning. Some say Uchiha killed the jinchuuriki, while others say Naruto died rescuing Sasuke from Orochimaru. Respect, fear, relief, anger...mixed emotions were running high in the village of the leaf, no one could argue that.

Sakura sat with her back pressed against the other side of the door, listening to her mother's fruitless attempts to talk to her. Her knees were pulled to her chest, her hair sloppy and face chapped from too much crying. In her hands was a long black cloth laced through a metal plate engraved with the leaf symbol. Jiraiya had given it to her on the way back, having picked it up from the battle scene. She blinked at the tear stained face which was reflected back at her and fingered the hitai-ate fondly. There were a couple strings of blonde hair stuck in the smooth cloth. She buried her face into the material; it still smelled like him...

She knew she was being ridiculous. Here she was wallowing in her own pity, making her mother worry about her, skipping her training...Naruto would have been horrified to see her like this. She should visit Sasuke...maybe...maybe he'll be better now, now that he's back in Konoha.

Her fingers clenched around the hitai-ate. No, seeing him would reminder her of what they lost...of what he_ cost_. She shouldn't blame him really, as it wasn't him who killed Naruto. But the irrational part of her wanted to blame him, because it was him who caused her so much grief, him who blinded her from what was right in front of her the whole time, and him who they spent so much time worrying over when he didn't even give a damn.

_'Forgive him,'_ she thought to herself, _'Naruto would have. He'd want you to too.'_

Easier said than done.

She almost still couldn't believe that she had finally let him go; that she had gotten past her infatuation with the handsome avenger—one of the only things left in her life holding her back from her true potential. Naruto would have loved to have seen that. He would have given her one of those huge grins and squinted his eyes and told her how proud he was of her. But he hadn't. And that was the reality she would have to face.

A part of her even blamed Naruto, which was the most stupid thing she could think of doing. She remembered the night before they left on that mission, the one that would decide the fate of Sasuke. She knew—she _told_ him—something bad was going to happen. Call it woman's intuition, but she had known in her gut that Naruto was in danger. And he wouldn't listen to her. No matter what she said, no matter how she pleaded, he only continued to brush her off, allocating all sorts of comforts: he would be fine, they'd get back Sasuke no sweat, it was just nerves...

Jerk.

That night...he promised her that he would never leave her...that he would always come back to her.

He had _promised_ her.

"Sakura, please, you can't do this to yourself again!"

Sakura scoffed bitterly at her mother's newest line. The last time she went through this she had someone here to comfort her, someone who knew and shared the same pain she was feeling, someone to make her smile again, to give her ambition—someone who clearly wasn't here this time around.

"I got it Haruno-san," an unexpected voice said from somewhere in front of Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi cursed herself for her lack of vigilance and soon found that she was staring into a pair of concerned, pupil-less eyes.

"You really need a latch on that window of yours, forehead."

"Go away, Ino." Sakura said quietly, curling into herself more. She could hear her mother's heavy sigh from beyond the wooden door and the fading footsteps as she walked away in defeat. One down, one to go.

"Sakura," Ino crouched down in front of the girl, looking at her pitiably. "You need to talk to someone about it. It's not good to mourn like this."

"Shut up Ino..." Sakura mumbled. Her eyes burned, not with more tears, but from being so dried out after hours upon hours of crying. "It's been hardly a couple days—it's perfectly normal to m-mourn like this."

Judging by the insecurity of her voice, Ino knew she didn't mean it. She knew Sakura better than most—save for maybe Naruto—and Sakura was a girl who would say one thing and hope you knew that she really meant something else. What Sakura really wanted was a hug—but not from her. Unfortunately the one she wanted to hug couldn't be here so she'd just have to deal.

Ino peered down at the hitai-ate Sakura had clasped in her hands and frowned. Naruto dying like that...his life...the kyuubi...sometimes she felt like crying herself. But she knew she didn't deserve to cry, didn't deserve that sort of relief, because she had never known Naruto as she should have known him. She never gave him a chance to prove those awful things her classmates and adults said about him wrong. And because of that she didn't feel worthy to call her his friend. For the 'dead-last' of the class he sure accomplished some amazing things...things the Hokages themselves couldn't do.

Ino lowered herself down to her knees in front of the girl, the skin over the joints pressing uncomfortably into the hardwood floors. She reached a hand forward and brushed a tangle of pink strands away from Sakura's prominent forehead.

"What did I tell you about covering this up, huh?" she asked jokingly. Sakura gave half a laugh and sniffled. Ino leaned forwards and granted the other girl the hug she had been silently yearning for. Sakura accepted it, her hands fisting in the purple material over Ino's shoulder blades, and buried her face into her neck. She had sworn that she was done crying, but the added comfort that she so intensely needed broke whatever resolve she had built up within the latest hours.

"It's so hard!" she wept, soaking Ino's shirt with tears that should have run out long ago. Ino rubbed her back with one hand and laced the fingers of the other through her hair.

"Shhh...I know..."

"I was right there but I couldn't—I didn't—"

"It's alright, let it out hunny."

"He—I—he was such a great guy...it shouldn't have been like that...he was supposed to be the h-hokage..."

"You'll be okay Sakura," Ino whispered, tears of her own welling up, "you still have me and your parents and Kakashi-sensei and the Hokage and the entire rookie gang. You're not alone."

"I know," she croaked as her tears subsided, "I know. But it's not the same...it won't ever be."

The two girls remained there on the floor, holding each other with wet faces and sore throats. Whatever damage remained of their friendship from that fateful day they declared each other rivals was restored at that exact moment as they allowed a comfortable silence to blanket them.

"I tried to tell him I loved him."

"Sasuke?"

"...no."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

yaaaayyyy, I have tests up the wazoo and I still decided to post this.

So Sakura is obviously in still distress about this, and Naruto is trying to play it off cool and reason off that Sakura will be fine without him, but he's still in shock and the seriousness of his situation and it hasn't quite hit yet. And Harry gives a bit of background to what's happening in that world.

Order of stories: (Road to Remember can go before this) Demon Hunter -- Millennium -- Troika Parallel (Experiments is just on the side of this)

Next up: Inuyasha in Konoha! Oh noes!

Thanks for the reviews!! They make me happy :)


	5. Leave the Whiskers Be

**A/N:** I hadn't realized it until now, but those of you who hadn't read the Demon Hunter stories should know this—when a half-demon reaches 100 they have the ability to change between their human appearance and their demonic one (this was made up by me, stop freaking out)...that would be good for you to know for this chapter... :)

**Chapter 5**

A handsome young man with rolling, ebony locks and violet eyes took a stance in front of the pair of gargantuan doors decorated with the fire emblem with his arms akimbo.

"Care to repeat that?"

"I cannot allow you to pass without the proper authorization. You must allow me to search you for weaponry or other means of hostility before I allow you to speak to anyone else," the ninja on guard stated professionally, if not a little exasperated.

"Well, I suppose it is called a hidden village for a reason." Inuyasha argued to himself, completely ignoring the chuunin before him.

"Sir, I will not ask you again, remove all weapons from your person and allow—what the—where the hell did he go?"

The strange man he was just speaking to before quite literally disappeared while he was in mid sentence. Normally he would let a civilian into the city with no problem, however, after nearly nine years of ninja training he could easily see that this man was not a civilian. No civilian could radiate power like that.

"Ooooo..."

The chuunin swiveled and snapped his neck up, horrified to see the stranger atop the thirty foot high wall with a hand shading his eyes and looking out on the village impressively.

"HEY! GET DOWN FROM THERE RIGHT NOW!"

Furious with the man, the ninja took one leap, fully prepared to take out the obviously skilled outsider. He didn't understand how the seemingly ordinary man was able to move so quickly; he could sense that his chakra pathways were unused. There was no way he was a civilian, but at the same time, no way he could be a ninja.

Inuyasha tore his eyes from the five carved faces across the city and greeted the man with a smile when he appeared next to him, the high winds around their perch whipping hair around their faces. The chuunin pulled out a kunai and approached with quick steps, clearly intending to take Inuyasha out for his insolence.

"You're not going any further—"

"Take a nap."

The chuunin was aware of a forefinger pressing into his forehead, releasing a warm sensation that poured through his mind, before everything went black.

Inuyasha watched dispassionately as the body of the nin crumpled to the ground in a blissfully unaware state of slumber.

"Oh to be young and stupid again." He sighed longingly before gracefully diving down the other side of the wall and into the bustling life of Konoha. As he walked he allowed his aged and enhanced senses to take in everything around him: the clothing, the structure, the architecture, the _culture_. The difference between this world and his could have just been that one military factor—ninja over science—and the difference was so subtle yet so staggering.

He walked through the dirt packed streets lined with shops and markets, taking his time and admiring the intimacy in which the citizens interacted with each other. He found it increasingly easier to tell the difference between the citizens and ninja, as well as the different levels of ninja. Reasoning from Naruto's crude explanations of chakra he was able to focus on the chakra aspects of each individual's aura. His nose twitched—having altered to his human form before approaching the gates his senses were dulled from their usual standing but still sharper than average. He trained his eyes on one of the tallest buildings, sensing a powerful aura from within. He could only assume this was the Hokage's building.

He took his time, enjoying the short walk and intermingling with the people, stopping at random shops, talking to the venders, and browsing the strange trinkets this world displayed. Drawing near the building he was able to pinpoint the Hokage's office by the concentrated power; third floor, second widow to the right. It was best, he decided, to take the window. He couldn't completely hide his true potential from the more experienced shinobi and he wanted to avoid any other situations like the one at the gate. The less sleeping ninja he left lying around the better.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Tsunade had tried to do her paper work, honestly, she did. Her sake bottle and overused drinking dish were settled on the corner of her desk, yet to be exploited for that day. Her workload was stacked into neat piles (thanks to Shizune) waiting to be filled out or marked off. She had hoped that by keeping herself busy and throwing herself into her Hokage duties she would be able to keep her mind from straying to the horrible event she had witnessed a couple days ago. Unfortunately it seemed every time she blinked Naruto's bloodied, broken body would flit through her mind.

She slammed her pen down and rubbed her hands irately over her face. A light breeze washed over her hunched form, tugging at her pigtails. Someone had opened the window.

"Jiraiya, for the last time, use the damn door. I am not in the mood."

"Not in the mood, huh? Pity. And here I was hoping to get in a quickie on the desk...haven't done that in months."

Tsunade's head snapped up. The shock of the unfamiliar voice—too youthful to be a fifty-three year old man's—caused her to completely discount the contents of the statement. Walking in front of her was a man, quite handsome, and dressed in easy-fitted dark pants and a long-sleeved linen-blend, shirt with the first few buttons undone around the collar and cuffs of his sleeves rolled to his elbows. He appeared completely at ease in her presence and while she could tell right off the bat that he wasn't a ninja, the powerful presence he emitted told her he was something more. She felt no threat from this man but his unexplainable power couldn't be ignored.

"Who are you?" she didn't bother rising from her chair, opting to start out as calm as he was.

"Inuyasha." He replied in an informal way, "And you must be the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade. You look a lot younger than I think you are."

Her eyebrow twitched but she let it slide.

"Inuyasha, what is your business in Konoha?"

_'And how the hell did you get in here?' _She kept that thought to herself.

"I believe I have something that belongs to you."

Tsunade sighed tiredly at his evasive answers but refused to relax. She knew he was dangerous and she didn't know his intentions for being in Konoha. Not to mention his unorthodox method of entering her office, especially for a first time visit, was unsettling. It was best to humor him for now until his motives were clear. "And what would that be? An I.O.U.? Because I don't recall ever gambling with you."

Inuyasha's ears twitched at the word. Gambling...that was something he needed to get back into.

"No," he drew out, clasping his hands behind his back charmingly, "I'll give you a hint. He's blonde and cute and downed a cup of ramen in forty-two seconds—"

"NARUTO!" Tsunade yelled, standing from her chair and smashing her hands on the desk so hard that the wood splintered from the impact. Inuyasha actually jumped, not expecting such an explosive reaction. He could see that the woman was trembling, shock and confusion written all over her face, her eyes flickering between rage and anguish. "What do you mean you have him? You have his body? Where is he?"

"Calm down."

Tsunade opened her mouth, ready to give him the tongue-lashing of the century for even suggesting she calmed down after he brought up such fresh grief.

"He's alive," he spoke before she could get started. Her mouth snapped shut with an audible click and she fell heavily back into her chair, not believing a word of it.

"A-a-alive," she whispered brokenly. Inuyasha smiled kindly and seated himself as well.

"Alive."

"How...I saw him...there was just no way..."

"I'll explain everything. However, it's a long story, so I hope you're willing to share some of that sake you've got ready on your desk."

"I—of course." She reached down mechanically to the drawer that held her sake cups to get another one when a thought came to mind. "Wait. Would you mind waiting for one more person to join us?"

"Not at all," Inuyasha replied genially, leaning back in his chair and resting his arms behind his head at ease.

"Shizune!" Tsunade hollered at her assistant whom she new was listening just beyond the door—her commanding presence once again returning to her as the joy of the recent news left her rejuvenated. "Did you hear all that?"

"Y-yes Tsunade-sama!" was the muffled, nasally reply.

"Good, call Sakura to my office immediately!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Holy shit!"

Naruto stood at a distance, trying to take in the considerable residence before him. All around him were wide, lush lawns, pools, porches, multistoried houses, and two car garages—including the address in front of him. To Naruto, who had never seen the suburbs before, this seemed quite a bit affluent.

"Yep...that was pretty much my reaction too." Harry replied casually.

"Inuyasha lives here?" the blond asked enviously, thinking of his scanty apartment back in Konoha.

"Yeah. He earned it."

Naruto glanced at Harry from his side, taking note of the softened look in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Harry grinned a little, his eyes still trained on the house they had yet to enter.

"You don't know him well enough yet. You'll see after you hang out with him a bit more. I may yell at him a lot, but I owe him everything. And I mean everything."

Naruto stared at Harry a bit longer and recognized the wistful expression—he could imagine he held a similar look when he tried explaining to Sasuke how he liked to imagine Iruka as a father. If Iruka hadn't acknowledged him when he did...if he had been any later...well, he didn't like to think of 'what ifs'.

Maybe...maybe Harry was like him. Had Inuyasha saved Harry from the pain of loneliness as Iruka had for him?

"Let's go!" Harry called, breaking his thoughts and tugging on his wrist. Naruto allowed himself to be dragged into the house; the first room he was greeted with was the kitchen, spacious and inviting with cedar cabinets and granite counters.

"So I take it you guardians of Hell are pretty well off..." Naruto said with raised eyebrows, his neck twisting in every which direction to take in his surroundings.

Harry snorted. "We're not paid for that actually. My income comes from demon hunting, and you saw my apartment."

"You have a nice apartment," Naruto assured him, "You should see mine."

Harry laughed briskly at that and the lenses of his glasses tinted to yellow.

"Well, it looks like Kagome and Cal are upstairs—Caleb is Kagome and Inuyasha's son—and Bridget and Alaina are Inuyasha's daughters. Alaina lives in Boston as a reporter, but Bridget is here..."

"The girls have a different mother?" Naruto asked, already knowing Kagome seemed much too young to have a full grown daughter living on her own in Boston.

"Yeah...you'll hear all about Inuyasha's wives and kids later...trust me, his story is longer than mine."

Naruto knew he was in for a long night of talking—which probably meant a long night of sitting still.

"Biddy?" Harry called loudly, stepping further into the kitchen. A thump from the second floor could be heard followed by the sound of a door slamming.

"Harry!" a strictly female voice squealed from another part of the house. "You came all the way over to see me?" a series of rapid thuds indicated she was swiftly making her way down a flight of stairs somewhere, "Kagome said that you have a ninja in your house—!"

A young woman—Naruto would guess to be around his age—with abundant, curly black hair and a similar build to Sakura's, burst through the door adjacent to the refrigerator. She faltered in her step and slid to a halt when she saw the extra visitor.

"Who's this?" She asked, her amber eyes blazing with curiosity as she gave the nice-looking blonde a once over. She recognized he was in Harry's clothes, no doubt altered to his smaller frame with magic

"This is the ninja." Harry smirked.

"What!" she cried in disbelief. She once again looked over the sunny blonde hair and clear, almost innocent, cerulean eyes.

"Hey!" Naruto snapped, offended. "What the hell do you mean 'what'?"

"Well," Bridget began, unabashed by her seemingly rude outburst, "It's just when I heard ninja I imaged some dark, pale guy dressed in black and all...sneaky like. Sorry, but you look kind of harmless."

Naruto scowled, intensely annoyed that her ninja description sounding so much like Sai, but was stopped from responding when he felt the weight of Harry's arm drape around his shoulders.

"He nearly took out the most powerful of the tailed demons. I wouldn't be so hasty as to call him harmless." Harry said coolly. Naruto looked up at him and grinned appreciatively.

"Well...in that case then," she stepped up and held out a hand for him to shake, "I'm Bridget! Witch extraordinaire and Harry's future mate."

Naruto smiled, forgiving her misjudgment with ease and grasped her hand with his own, giving it a light shake.

"I'm Naruto. Very lost shinobi and future Hokage."

"...Hokage?"

"Village leader. And you're a witch?"

"Yep! Going on my sixth year at Salem Witches' Institute."

"Whoa, cool. This is Salem we're in right now, right?"

"Oh," Harry said, completely unfazed by earlier Bridget's claim on him, "That reminds me—we need to get out the globe. We have a lot to teach him about this world."

Bridget wasn't even listening to her one and only. She was leaning close into Naruto's personal space and scratching at his cheek with her finger.

"What are these? Are they scars or...no, they're not raised...birthmarks?"

"H-hey!" Naruto stuttered, leaning away from her touch, "Don't touch those, they're sensitive!"

The last person to touch them was Sakura, and while he felt stupid for considering it, he didn't want anyone else to touch them but her.

"They're so cute!"

"Oh Christ," Harry muttered. "I'm gunna make some ramen. Hungry?"

"Yeah!"

"Sure."

Harry went about preparing ramen for the three of them, which soon turned into four bowls when Kagome appeared after putting Caleb down for a nap. She immediately started in on fawning over Naruto—asking if the boys had been nice to him, if he was comfortable staying with Harry, if he had eaten enough that day. Bridget was on him as well, firing question after question about ninjas and the shinobi world and his whisker marks. Naruto seemed rather overwhelmed under such scrutiny from two lovely females (this whole world seemed a bit too keen on him from what he was used to) and welcomed the arrival of his steaming bowl of ramen.

"So," Bridget started, watching fondly as Naruto fumbled with his fork, "are we gunna keep him?"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Shizune...please...if this is a new mission I really can't." Sakura protested to her master's assistant who was leading her down the snaking halls to the Hokage's office. "Really, I'll get people killed. There's no way I can focus after—"

"Sakura-chan, trust me. This is good." Shizune assured her for the umpteenth time.

Sakura gave a sad smile, "I don't think I'll view anything as good for a long time Shizune."

Shizune returned the smile, not the pitying kind she had been getting almost nonstop for the last couple of days, but a knowing smile, a smile that promised hope, and opened the ever familiar door to Tsunade.

"Ah, Sakura, excellent. Have a seat, please."

Sakura had hardly taken a step out of the door frame after noticing an unfamiliar person sipping casually from a sake dish. She glanced at the Hokage and was shocked to see no traces of the weariness she had been carrying with her since...that day.

"What's going on," Sakura asked slowly, creeping away from the door and ignoring the request to sit. She decided on standing against the wall.

"Inuyasha," Tsunade began whilst gesturing to their guest, "informs me that he has some good news for us. Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha nodded gratefully and stood from his seat, glancing at the pink-haired girl. This must have been the 'Sakura-chan' Naruto had spoken so fondly of. The girl was quite pretty in her own way, but it was dulled by the red-rimmed eyes, sallow complexion, and her overall unkempt state.

"I'll start off by informing you that I am from a parallel world to this. Earth has many different dimensions parallel to one another, and Hell is one of these—no I am not from Hell," he quickly added to dispel any such thoughts. So far the only reactions he received were blank, precarious looks. "I am from a world where technology rules the human lifestyle, and more recently, wizards and demons have intermingled with the norm. Don't look at me like that; we think ninjas are just as weird. Anyway, before I go any further I'll tell you that I am a hanyou."

"Hanyou?" Shizune asked. "What's that?"

"I'm glad you asked." He said pleasantly and promptly converted to his true form. Loud gasps escaped from the older two women and Sakura accidentally let out a small scream when the once black tresses suddenly shined silver and two prominent, fuzzy ears perched themselves atop his head. His whole aura changed, loosing its human appeal, and became more feral. "It's someone of half-human, half-demon blood."

He waved a clawed hand at Tsunade, telling her he wasn't hostile and to remain seated.

"Y-you...is that even possible?" Sakura stuttered, not very inclined to move from her position against the wall. She couldn't figure out what this man-demon wanted with them or why she was called there. His far-fetched story seemed so irrelevant to anything that would be 'good' to her.

"Of course." Inuyasha seemed quite agreeable to answering any questions and he helped himself to another cup of sake. "You know...we are not so different from those jinchuuriki. In fact, jinchuuriki would most likely fall under the half-breed category."

It was like a light had switched on in Sakura's mind—Hell, demons, jinchuuriki...this had something to do with Naruto—and suddenly she was all ears.

"How so?" Tsunade asked, still burning with curiosity about this man's connection to Naruto's wellbeing and what he wanted.

Inuyasha shrugged casually, "Jinchuuriki and hanyou share many traits. Demonic instincts and human logic pitted against each other...puberty is truly tragic for them. Hanyou are born of a human parent and demon parent and Jinchuuriki have demons sealed within them during infancy—otherwise, young enough so that their chakra tracks will adapt to the poisonous chakra. After this happens those chakra tracks are no longer human and become one of the first of many aspects that separates a jinchuuriki from other humans."

He paused and scratched at one of his ears as he thought. All three women looked longingly at the cuddly seducements.

"They face many of the same hardships...isolation and scorn being the top two I can think of. They find it very hard to be accepted seeing as they cannot be called true humans or true demons. I'm sure you've noticed a growing change in your own jinchuuriki over time. Canines getting sharper, pupils changing, enhanced senses...or maybe you haven't." He ended this disapprovingly, almost accusingly, daring them to admit to any neglect regarding the recently 'deceased' boy.

"I had noticed some changes, particularly in personality. At times he seemed more aggressive, at others, fiercely protective. Both had always been a part of his nature, but at some period it got to the point of being alarming," Tsunade mused. "But I digress. Inuyasha, what was it you originally came to tell us?"

"Oh yes. Sorry, I do tend to ramble on when it comes to the tragedies that those poor freaks of nature must endure. Moving on...as I am hanyou, I also happen to be one of the guardians of the gates of Hell...meaning I can access Hell whenever I want...this is how I managed to arrive in this world."

"Wait a minute..." Sakura began. "All this talk of Hell...if you came here then..." she swallowed tightly and spoke with a quiver, "you didn't happen to find anyone...?"

Her chest hurt so badly. She wanted to hope against false hope, but her mind was telling her over and over again that Naruto was dead. And even if they did find him...all they would have would be a body to bury for the funeral...

"Actually, it was another guardian who found Naruto," Inuyasha said candidly, "He's been tended to and resealed and keeps going on about getting back here so he can be Hokage."

It happened so fast, faster than her mind was able to process, but Sakura broke down once again into fresh sobs. Her back, which was pressed against the wall moments before, slid down until she was settled on the hard floors. However, no one was fooled. The utter relief that was audible in each heaving breath she gave let them know that this time she was crying for joy.

"Oh God...oh God, oh God, oh God," she broke into light laughter, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes. She should have known; he _always_ kept his promises.

"So he's coming back? Naruto-kun...he's coming back?" Shizune asked her own charcoal eyes watery and light.

"That's why I came here. I'm not so sure that's the best idea at the moment." The _'I'm not so sure how to'_ was left unsaid.

"But why?" Tsunade demanded, suddenly seeing that there was a flipside to this coin. Sakura had lifted her face and stared at Inuyasha as though he uttered a foremost betrayal.

Inuyasha silently scrutinized the three women for a long moment before he gave his answer.

"Naruto has quite a future ahead of him." The girls waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. "I want you to give me the full details on this situation concerning the Akatsuki and I want everything you know about Naruto—his files, history, medical records—everything."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Naruto stared at the tilted, miniature world placed in front of him. The unfamiliar alignment of land and oceans only served to further confirm just how far from home he really was. A growing pang of homesickness hit his lower stomach and he felt as though he were going to be ill.

"Oh wow..." it wasn't said out of awe or any such thing. It was the full weight of the situation finally coming down on him. Chances were he would never see any of his friends again. He would never see his village or his senseis. It would now be cars over horse carriages, skyscrapers over trees, polluted and humid air assaulting his sensitive nose over the fresh, clean breeze of fire country. He would never see Sakura-chan again...

Harry looked at him worriedly, immediately picking up signals of distress when the young blonde's shoulders sagged with the weight of his troubles. He looked at Bridget. She mouthed something to him and he nodded.

"Hey, Naruto, you can fight, right?"

Naruto blinked his way out of his stupor and turned his attention to the older boy.

"Yeah."

Harry cracked a grin.

"Wanna spar?"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

I know Harry seems really OOC to some people, but please realize that he's been heavily influenced by Inuyasha for over a decade. And Inuyasha is insane at his age of 486. Woe.

Spring Break is starting this Friday for me, so I won't update next week. I want to be lazy damnit.

But thanks for the reviews :D

Next up: Inuyasha meets Sasuke...and then the eyebrow twins...YOUTH!


	6. Explode for Ramen!

**Chapter 6**

"Inuyasha-san..." Sakura began hesitantly, "are you sure this is the best way? I mean, Naruto is strong enough as it is and we all miss him here."

_She_ missed him here.

Inuyasha smiled generously down at her and she fought hard not to blush as he was very handsome—even in his hanyou form, which he had changed out of before leaving the office. The pair was walking to the basement of the Hokage's tower—the interrogation quarters to be more specific. After two hours of going over Naruto's records (she learned more disturbing facts about his childhood than she had ever needed to know) Inuyasha had asked that Sakura escort him to meet Naruto's other teammate. Before they headed off there was mutual agreement that Naruto's survival would be released to the public ASAP but the details concerning his whereabouts would be simply explained as he was recovering and training in a remote location until further notice—which wouldn't be _too_ far from the truth.

"Don't worry," he assured her, "he'll be happy, and it won't be for too long. He needs this. With the way his body is adapting to Kyuubi's chakra it would be best if I were around until he's done with puberty. No more than a couple years, I promise you. Besides, this way he'll be safe from further capture by the Akatsuki."

Sakura—whose face had childishly blushed at the association of Naruto and puberty—would have liked to argue further, to tell him Naruto would be happiest in Konoha with all the people who cared about him, but she knew he had a point. If they could avoid the Akatsuki from getting their hand on Naruto again then she would gladly give him up to Inuyasha's care.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why do you want to see Sasuke anyway?"

"I want to see if he's worth it." He caught Sakura's confused look. "Naruto seems convinced that Sasuke still needs his help. That boy appears to be taking up a lot of his mind."

Sakura's eyes widened for a split second, not expecting that answer, before they settled into a warm look of reminiscence.

"He was always so sympathetic to Sasuke," she told him, "no matter what Sasuke did he couldn't drive Naruto away from him."

Inuyasha bit his lip, the gears in his mind turning swiftly.

"Has he always like that?"

"Naruto?" Sakura shrugged. "As far as I know. He's very forgiving, even to his enemies. But he's too trusting for his own good sometimes." She shook her head as she said this, "Well, this is the room Sasuke's in."

They approached a plain looking door, the number 352 printed at eye-level, bold and black. Sakura grasped the door handle and turned, pushing it open silently. Sasuke was present, seated in the middle of a bare room; the only other furniture besides the chair he was sitting on was a rectangular metal table. Bulky chakra restraints were on his ankles and wrists though they seemed pointless; the young man sat perfectly still with the ever-present glower on his face, which deepened upon seeing her. Sakura refused to look shaken and met his cold stare with one of her own. Even though Naruto was alive, she still felt a sense of provocation towards Sasuke for being the catalyst for their troubles.

"You look like a pirate," Inuyasha pointed out conversationally. Sasuke turned his attention to the man who entered behind his former teammate and granted him the most chilling glare he could muster. But Inuyasha either didn't notice or was immune to such stares (if Sasuke had only known about his brother!) and continued, "I used to be a pirate. Good times. Not the most hygienic, but good times nonetheless."

Sakura was staring at the hanyou like he was insane.

_'We're leaving Naruto to this guy...?'_

**Cha! Naruto better not come back any weirder than he already is!**

"Sasuke, Naruto is alive." Sakura blurted out. She wanted to see what kind of reaction the statement could elicit from the otherwise stoic boy. To her disappointment his face was unreadable, but she could have sworn his eyes widened just a bit. "He's going to be away training for the next year or so."

"Training?" the word tumbled out of the avenger like a curse. Sasuke's mind was racing with the different possibilities of Naruto's miraculous survival and unexplained training. If Naruto would be receiving more training...while he himself was under triple probation...and his brother was still out there...

Anger rose within the captive, the unfairness of everything beginning to burden down on him. His restrains crackled threateningly as his subconscious called forth his chakra.

"Calm down Sasuke," Sakura demanded. She should have known he would get like this; he and Naruto always had a severe jealousy issue regarding each other. While Sasuke didn't like being told what to do, he heeded her directions and his shoulders relaxed. The resentment remained visible on his face.

"He's worried about you," Inuyasha said. He had yet to properly introduce himself to Sasuke and so far had no intentions of doing so.

"He's a loser." Sasuke spat out "Always has been, always will be. He can't get it through his thick skull that I want nothing to do with him."

"He seems to think otherwise." Inuyasha said, staring hard into the younger man's eyes. Sasuke met the silent challenge and Sakura stood awkwardly in the stillness as the two males appeared to be having a staring contest.

It was Inuyasha who spoke first, however his gaze remained locked on Sasuke's.

"Your brain is being affected by something."

The blunt statement caused Sasuke to audibly gasp and turn his head away. Sakura too was in disbelief. Could Inuyasha read minds?

"Whatever is affecting you is going to fade over time. I'm sure you'll change your mind." Inuyasha now spoke to Sakura, "He's counting on you to help him through this."

Sakura didn't need to ask who 'He' was. She nodded resolutely, giving her unvoiced promise that she would not abandon Sasuke to his own mental hell.

"Why are you doing this? Why Naruto?" Sasuke was still looking to the side, his eyes were lowered, and for the first time in a long time he seemed...humbled from Sakura's perspective.

Inuyasha cocked his head and sized the Uchiha up, thinking of how much he should say. Everything in his mind had been theories and conclusions—he hadn't spoken to anybody the truth of his suspicions, opting to give even the Hokage a watered down version of his plans.

"All you need to know is...Naruto is the only one who has the power to save this world. Painfully cliché, but true."

Sasuke scoffed loudly, finally looking up to meet Inuyasha's golden watch. "That dobe couldn't—"

"Shhh, be quiet emo boy." Inuyasha commanded, placing a hand in front of Sasuke's face. Perhaps it was because it was spoken as if he were speaking to a dog that displeased Sasuke the most. Sakura, who was previously reeling from Inuyasha's declaration on Naruto's worth, coughed a giggle into her hand, which she quickly dispelled after a harsh glare from her former beloved. Inuyasha may be immune to those stares, but she had a ways to go.

Deciding he got all the information he needed, Inuyasha headed back out the only door present.

"Well, I'm off. I can see why he likes you, though you need to get that stick out of your ass," Sasuke scarcely bristled and Inuyasha added, "Seriously kid, it'll take years off your life."

"Bye Sasuke," Sakura said, not receiving nor expecting a reply.

"If you ever meet me again," Inuyasha said over his shoulder, "chances are it won't be good circumstances."

The two teens had not a clue as to what the man was talking about. Shrugging and affixing it to be part of his personality, Sakura prepared to follow him out. She made it to the doorframe and paused, her hands sliding down the wood panels as she watched Inuyasha walk further and further from her. She had no doubt he knew she was staying behind. Her heart hammering, she turned to face Sasuke, drawing herself up to her full height of five 'four.

"You know Sasuke...I'm almost somewhat grateful for your leaving." He stared blankly at her, she plowed on, "In a way I should be thanking you. If you hadn't left...well, it disgusts me to think about how I would have turned out. I would have never been serious about being a kunoichi, I would have continued to trash my friendships over a stupid boy," Sasuke blinked, which she interpreted as a flinch for him, "and I would have never acknowledged the one person who always believed in me—no matter how stupid I was. So thank you."

Her heart was soaring as she exited the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click, not even looking back for a response from him. She was a free woman, completely independent. Naruto was alive. Sasuke was home. She could help Sasuke now; she would do it for Naruto so that when he finally came back to them they would be ready to be a team again.

Inuyasha glanced behind him after hearing her brief declaration, glad the girl found a sense of closure. He liked her; she had a fiery inner persona that reminded him of his own mate. He knew why Naruto cherished her so.

In a quick series of leaps he made his way out of the Hokage's tower and over to Naruto's apartment by way of scent. He planned to grab the boy's weapons and scrolls so that he could continue to practice his ninja arts while he was away—he couldn't let Naruto get rusty after all. However, before he even made it to Naruto's district his senses were pleasantly attacked by a most delectable and savory aroma.

The heels of his shoes raised dirt as he skidded to a halt in the middle of the street. His nose twitched repeatedly as it led him quickly towards the source of the smell. It wasn't long before he found himself standing in front of a homey restaurant. The sound of pots and pans clanging together as well as some light chatter filtered out into the air through the flaps concealing the entrance.

"Ichiraku Ramen Bar..." he muttered, reading the sign overhead. Had Naruto mentioned something about that? He couldn't remember and shrugged, stepping forwards and pulling away the nearest flap. The warm, salty sent surrounded him now and he inhaled it greedily; his stomach loudly announced that it hadn't been fed all day. In front of him was a bar lined with pale stools. He seated himself a few places away from an identical pair of customers who happened to be wearing the most ridiculous green bodysuits he had ever seen. Behind the bar was an older looking man, probably in his late forties. He had a deeply depressed aura about him as he methodically stirred something the bar shielded from view. It didn't take him long to notice his newest patron.

"How can I help you, young man?"

Inuyasha grinned, eyeing the bountiful options the menu provided.

"I suppose I'll have...one of each flavor!" Kagome would kill him if she knew how much ramen he was about to consume.

The old man seemed to falter with the cooking utensil he held in his hand, catching Inuyasha's interest.

"Is something wrong?" he piqued.

"N-no," the man croaked. He cleared his throat and eyed the stranger before him. He had never seen this man in all his years so he could only assume he was a visitor from another land. His heart was heavy with grief and the young man seemed friendly enough; it couldn't hurt to lay some of his grief out. Teuchi sighed tiredly, "It's just...there was only one other person who ever ordered something as extravagant as that. He was our number one customer."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, already knowing of whom he was speaking about but decided to play along anyway. "Was?"

The man had busied himself preparing Inuyasha's many orders of ramen and quickly called to the back of the shop for an 'Ayame' before he elaborated.

"Yes. He was killed in a recent mission...a horrible death is what the rumors say. He was a great kid."

Inuyasha distinctly remembered the Hokage stating that Naruto's 'death' hadn't been released to the general public yet, but he supposed secrets in this ninja village were about as well kept as they were in Hogwarts: everyone somehow knew.

"Are you talking about Naruto-kun?" A cute brunette in a white apron and a white bandana walked out of the back with an arm load of ingredients. She seemed quite cheerless as she set to work next to her father.

"You two seem pretty fond of the kid," Inuyasha prompted. Ayame needed no further encouragement.

"He was one of the sweetest people I knew. I was twelve the first time he came in here—with the Hokage no less. I remember because he had just been forced to live on his own because no caretakers could be found for him and he was very sad. It was his first bowl of ramen ever and his eyes just lit up after his first bite. He has been coming here regularly ever since, always telling his funny stories and trying to get other people to pay for him..."

She trailed off wistfully as she thought back on her memories of the blonde shinobi. Her father slid the first two bowls of ramen in front of Inuyasha. He snapped his chopsticks and prepared to dig in when one of the two other diners spoke up. It was then Inuyasha got a good look at his fellow ramen-eaters—and soon sincerely wished he hadn't. The green spandex suits were _far_ too tight.

"N-Naruto-kun—he was the most worthy rival I would have ever found." The bowl-cut haired boy had unreasonably large eyebrows and eyes that bugged out of his skull, of which were now leaking a river of tears down each cheek. "His spirit burned with a most youthful passion!"

"Yes, Lee." His giant clone wept, tears dripping from his own, much smaller eyes. "His beautiful youth shall be remembered by all who were blessed to be met with it."

The boy let out a cry and threw his arms around the larger man.

"Oh Gai-sensei!"

The man returned the embrace with equal theatrical vitality.

"Oh Lee!"

Inuyasha took a bite of his meal.

"Oh my God..."

Despite the severely disturbing scene he had just witnessed, Inuyasha's appetite was in no way affected. The entirety of the small establishment looked at the stranger, whose face was aglow with pleasure.

"This is the best ramen I have ever tasted!" Inuyasha exclaimed before piling as much as he could into his mouth. And it was no lie. Inuyasha had been eating ramen for at least four hundred years—ramen from every different country and every different time—and never had the flavors blended so perfectly or the broth soaked so well into his taste buds or the noodles have such a supple yet firm consistency. He was going to grill Naruto about not telling him about this place. The man behind the counter seemed to perk up a bit at hearing this.

"Glad to hear you like it so much," he placed three more bowls of different flavors Inuyasha had ordered.

"Mmm," Inuyasha hummed with his mouth full. He swallowed and said, "It's a pity Naruto won't get to eat it for a while. Maybe I should take some back for him..."

He chewed thoughtfully on his mouthful, seemingly ignorant to the stricken looks he was in receipt of.

"How could he know him...?" Teuchi whispered. The ladle had slipped from Ayame's hands.

"What do you mean by 'take some back for him'?" the one called Gai said in his deep voice. He stood from his stool, his student quickly following his actions.

"Yes! What do you know about Naruto-kun? Are you friend or foe?" Lee demanded with his fists clenched.

'_Friend or foe...,'_ Inuyasha thought at the weird speech, taking another bite of noodles. He glanced around him. These people obviously cared deeply for Naruto and were upset by his 'passing'. It wouldn't hurt to relieve them of their grief...especially after they fed him this divine cuisine of ramen.

"Naruto is alive." He said simply between mouthfuls. "He's been retrieved from Hell and is making a full recovery."

"A-alive..." Ayame gasped out with a hand over her mouth "Naruto-kun...he's alive..."

She looked to her father, who was grinning broadly, his eyes swimming with emotion, and pulled him in a hug. Gai and Lee were not so easily influenced, the stranger's nonchalant attitude made his statement less credible.

"How can we trust that what you say is true?" Gai asked. Inuyasha slurped in the noodles that were hanging from his mouth.

"Well, for starters...I work for Hell."

"Work for..." Gai seemed at a loss, "I'm finding that very hard to believe."

Inuyasha sighed, hating that he would have to resort to this, and transformed into his hanyou state. Ayame shrieked, her father let out a yell and jumped back, Lee and Gai both gasped and threw themselves into bizarre defensive poses.

"See..." Inuyasha said, now sounding annoyed. If they didn't believe him that meant he had to talk and if he was talking that meant he was not eating. "I'm not human. I work for Hell. Naruto is alive and kicking."

He suddenly felt something rubbing at the corner of his left ear and glanced to his side to see that Ayame was leaning across the bar with her arm outstretch and her tongue peeking at an angle through her teeth as she concentrated on touching the fuzzy appendages. Inuyasha patiently waited for her to realize that he was no longer talking and was looking at her. When she did, she let out an embarrassed squeak and slid back from the bar, giggling apologetically.

"YOSH!" Gai unexpectedly screamed, kicking over a stool as he took on an impressive stance, "CLEARLY NARUTO'S TORRID FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN WITH A PASSIONATE FURY THAT HELL ITSELF CANNOT EXTINGUISH!!!"

Inuyasha slid one seat down further. Just to be safe.

"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee screamed as well, obviously trying to match his mater's volume. "WE MUST SPREAD THIS JOYOUS NEWS THROUGHOUT THE VILLAGE!"

"AN EXCELLENT IDEA MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! COME! THE PEOPLE MUST KNOW OF THIS SHINING EXAMPLE OF YOUTH, SO THAT THEY TOO MIGHT BE INSPIRED TO EXCERCISE THEIR BOWELS OF YOUTH!"

"HAI!"

The two lunatics fled from the ramen bar, their screams of jubilation could be heard from miles away as they spread news of Naruto's survival.

"_Bowels of youth_..." Inuyasha whispered incredulously. The last four bowls of his order slid under his nose—now that he was transformed the scent was that much more heavenly.

"This order's on the house," Teuchi said, wiping his hands on a dishrag. He needn't explain why. Inuyasha grinned appreciatively, pushing aside his finished bowls and plowing into the newest flavors Ichiraku had to offer. His savory delight was interrupted by the pads of feminine fingers once again massaging his ear.

"Ayame!"

"I'm sorry! I can't help it!"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Inuyasha left Ichiraku in good spirits—of course who wouldn't after dining on the most delicious ramen known to Gods?—and returned to his self-appointed mission of packing a bag for Naruto. The streets were buzzing as he leisurely followed his nose (he made sure to turn back into a human _again_ before leaving). He often caught words as 'survival' and 'Hell' and 'return'. It would seem the eyebrow twins succeeded in spreading the word.

Inuyasha soon found himself in a seedy district and it wasn't long before he stood on the top floor of a rundown building, facing an unlocked wooden door littered with cracks and dents. He let himself into the messy apartment and began collecting scrolls and kunai and shuriken that decorated the dusty floor. By the time he had everything packed into a knapsack he had earlier found in a closet the sun was well on its way to the western horizon.

He left the village discretely, this time opting for non-confrontational exit. As he walked, Inuyasha mentally ran through all the information that he learned about the blond that day. Every time he drew the same baffling, incredulous but oh-so-predictable conclusion. He stopped at the very point he staked out for returning to Hell.

'_Forgiving, huh?'_

He shook his head disbelievingly and playfully glared up at the sky.

"You silly bitches."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Ooohhh Kaaaay—thanks for your patience, I know not much interesting happened in this chapter and it was too short but it was necessary. And now the plot will unfold! YOSH!

My spring break was cool except for the fact that I got my wisdom teeth out and was all hopped up on Vicodin. Good times, good times.

Thank you all so much for the reviews and your ideas. Hell, I've even got people correcting my grammar in them, which is cool cuz I probably need that. Anyway, let me know what you think!

Next time: Magic vs. Ninja...oh God my head hurts already


	7. Kitty Fight

**A/N: **Alrighty, before you continue on with this chapter (and this is mostly directed to those who have **not** read Demon Hunter, etc.) Harry might seem a bit kick-ass, but that's because he's been trained by Inuyasha since fifteen to hunt friggn' demons. So he's not limited to magic.

**Chapter 7**

Naruto shook the wobbly feeling from his head that was left after Harry shadow-walked him to their new destination. Sunlight on his face was the first sign that he was no longer in the Nagasaki residence. He squinted against the harsh onslaught of rays and shadowed his eyes with his hand. He stood in a field of long, yellow-green grass that lingered on for miles with a collection of limber trees scattered throughout the area that stopped in a distance by a range of white-capped mountains. He turned to his left and could make out some sort of bronze and golden settlement with a strange, circular based architecture. The heavy sound of rushing water beneath the hum of mosquitoes notified him of a river not far off.

"Where are we?" he asked, welcoming the beautiful change of scenery.

"India." It was Bridget who answered; she had demanded that she come along so that she could referee—though it was clear to both boys that she was disinclined to pass up an opportunity to see Harry sweaty and dirty.

"India..." Naruto rubbed his chin, trying to think back to the globe he was previously looking at. "Wait...isn't that on the other side of the world?"

He found it amazing how quickly some people could travel here; distances that would take days, months, or even years to reach back at home were covered in seconds.

"Yep. But this is where my gate is so I spend a lot of time training here," Harry said, "Bridget, why don't you go over there," he pointed to a nearby tree, the canopy just wide enough to grant the young witch some shade. The girl heeded his advice without much complaint and settled herself against the bistre bark of the Neem tree.

"Let's start off slow, shall we?" Harry instructed and positioned his body in a manner that would suggest he wanted to begin with hand-to-hand combat, "Wouldn't want you to strain yourself after you just recovered."

Naruto smirked, rising to the challenge superbly before blanching after a sudden realization came upon him. He didn't have any weapons or scrolls on him!

Quickly regaining his posture, he too settled in an easy taijutsu stance. He didn't need weapons for this; he'd show this wizard up with his jutsus. He knew he was still weak from the ordeal a couple days ago and his stomach still cramped with too much movement, but physicality had never stopped him before.

"Alright," Bridget called from her lounging spot, "Nothing too serious now, guys. Stick to the basics. Okay, start!"

The seven meters of space that once separated the two boys evaporated in an instant; an outbreak of arms and legs, hands and feet, blocks and parries and strikes were well underway before the last vibration of Bridget's vocal cords faded. The young witch sat perfectly still with wide eyes. Though the small amount of demon blood flowing in her veins did aid her eyesight, she found it hard to track their movements. She was already impressed with the blond; not many could keep up with Harry when it came to speed, let alone match him.

Grass and dirt were kicked up as feet scuffed and dragged along the ground, taking hits as well as delivering them. Harry smirked, pleased that the kid was able to keep up with him—it had been a while since he got a decent challenge. The fighting style the boy was displaying immediately piqued his interest. It was rare, crude but refined, and based off of brawling or; It was exactly like his own...and Inuyasha's to a certain extent. Most individuals skilled in the art of physical fighting have polished techniques and deportment, forms of taijutsu that have been studied and passed down for centuries. But for Inuyasha, himself, and clearly Naruto, the beginning of their fighting experience had no guidance. It came from survival—street fighting. From there it developed, adapted, and was added to from other forms. Inuyasha had centuries to learn and adopt other styles, which was then taught to Harry, adding to his own crude arsenal. Now he could see that before being formally trained in taijutsu, Naruto himself began self-taught and original. Which was good—it made him unpredictable.

Deciding to step things up a notch he added a spark of magic into his finger tips—surely not enough for the ninja to detect, if he was even adverse to such a skill—but enough to send little sparks with each point of contact.

Naruto actually gasped when the first hit—a strike to the inside of his arm—sent a painful shock into the appendage. He faltered in his step, nothing too serious, but enough to put Harry on the definite offensive. The blows fell heavier as he tried to adjust to the additional pain of each hit. A sharp kick to the chest sent him heavily into the trunk of a tree, not Bridget's tree, but a tree several feet off. He recovered quickly enough and gripped his fingers into the bark, managing to throw his body into the foliage above just before Harry's follow up attack hit home. Harry pulled his fist from the tree and that was when, after watching splinters of bark trickle from the small hollow in the trunk, Naruto knew Harry was doing something more than basic taijutsu. He was left with no time to contemplate this as Harry flew up to join him in the canopy. Branches were used as perches and leverage as the two continued their battle in the tree tops, switching from tree to tree, littering the ground with large branches and shaken leaves.

"Watch it guys!" Bridget cried as they both landed in the tree she was under. The boys ignored her; Naruto pitched a kick as Harry managed to dodge it by grabbing the branch overhead and swinging his body around in the air. Naruto's kick hit a branch instead, resulting in Bridget being showered with dry leaves.

"Hey!" she wailed angrily. But once again they paid her no heed, leaping to the next unsuspecting tree. She pouted as she brushed some leaves from her curly mane. "Jerks..."

Harry grunted as Naruto managed to get in a light punch under his arm. So the kid could fight...that was good; now he could really have some fun. After maneuvering away from a frontal strike that would have knocked his shoulder right out of its socket he flipped out of the tree, much to the surprise of his opponent.

Harry landed neatly in the grass and shot Naruto a smirk. Naruto cocked his head to the side, curious as to what his problem was, when he caught sight of a stick being twiddled confidently in the fingers of the wizard—and it didn't come from one of the trees.

"_Mobilarbus!"_ Harry said with vehemence. The branches of the tree sprung to life immediately, grappling at Naruto's clothes.

"The hell—!" Naruto cried quite alarmed at the turn of events. He nimbly dodged the dozens of wooden appendages that flew at him, having to break a few before finally making it out of the tree. His relief was short-lived.

"_Petrificus totalus!"_

Harry watched in satisfaction as Naruto's body sized up, legs and arms snapping together, his body teetering dangerously and finally opting to fall backwards.

"That wasn't bad kid," Harry said, strolling up to the descending, spell-ridden boy, "but you've got a ways to—what the?"

The body had finally struck the ground...only to poof into one of the larger branches they had earlier knocked out of a tree.

"Switching spell?" Bridget whispered to herself, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

"Kawarimi actually," Naruto yelled, flying at Harry out of a tree on his right.

'_Heh. He needs to learn not to give his position away so fast.'_ Harry thought, grinning and falling back into a taijutsu stance, ready to meet the younger boy who had his fingers positioned in a cross before his chest. So confident that he had Naruto figured out, he could only be surprised when a hard kick stuck in his lower back, followed by another and another and another, each one sending him higher into the sky. The four different hits were strong and coming from all angles, Harry had no choice but to take them, unable to twist his body away from the quick onslaught while in mid-air.

Bridget was on her knees by now, her mouth hanging open as she had literally just seen Naruto replicate himself and attack Harry all at once. While she hated to see her preferred man in any type of pain (unless it was inflicted by her)...this was just too cool!

"Uzumaki Naruto Rendan!" Naruto, the real Naruto, cried before landing a numbing spinning kick to the back of Harry's neck and sending the demon hunter careening into the ground several feet below them. A quick, wandless cushioning charm managed to save Harry from any real trouble. Naruto landed with a growl when he saw Harry bounce back up as if he had been barely tapped.

Harry shook his head while rubbing the back of his neck and wincing.

"Damn kid..._Impedimenta_!" he called when Naruto started in on him again. Naruto dodged the stream of light letting it whiz by his ear and made that ominous cross with his fingers again.

'_Oh no you don't!'_ Harry thought sadistically with a silly thought in mind.

"_Silencio_!"

Harry had hoped that by shutting the ninja up he wouldn't be able to perform any of his jutsus that were starting to become such a pain the ass. He was sorely disappointed when Naruto's mouth moved soundlessly and hundreds upon hundreds of blond ninja filled the air.

"Oh Merlin..." Bridget breathed as she watched the sky darken with countless Narutos that barreled down on Harry.

"_Diffindo! Evanesce! Reducto!_" Harry fired off spells rapidly, taking out large groups of clones all at once. He made sure to take note on how they burst into puffs of smoke each time they were stuck by a cutting hex or the reductor curse. He continued on this track, occasionally having to stop to physically dispel one that got too close.

"_Incendio!_" he cried, shooting a broad ray of fire in a circle around himself, succeeding in destroying the vast majority of the remaining clones, leaving perhaps twenty. The dry grass covering the land caught fire from the spell and it spread quickly. Neither boy seemed to care about the heat and flames licking at their sides. The sweat that had built up over their workout doubled, dribbling down the sides of their faces.

"You guys! The trees!" Bridget yelled at them from afar while staring aghast at the numerous burning vegetation that they seemed to show no regard for. She glowered at the duelers and pulled out her wand, planning on getting rid of the blaze herself. "Stupid idiots..._Aguamenti_!"

While Bridget set to task saving the environment Naruto and Harry squared off, Naruto silently commanding his clones to surround the wizard. He was furious at his sudden loss of speech and vowed not to let another one of those unpredictable spells hit him again. He debated whether or not to use rasengan and decidedly chose the latter. It took a bit of that extra chakra he didn't have at the moment in his weakened state. That and he didn't want to really harm Harry; he didn't know if Harry had any counter to it like Sasuke had the chidori. After all, this was just for fun.

He made a few quick hand seals and mouthed "Bunshin Daibakuha!" of course no sound came out but he was pleased that it worked. One of his clones started running at Harry, who turned, wand at the ready, preparing to wipe it out with a quick banishing charm. Before he had a chance to do any such thing the clone exploded. The explosion shook the ground, spreading the fire further, faster, taking out a few clones that were too close.

"Ah, shit," Harry swore as he was thrown several feet. He suffered quite a few burns but nothing serious; his magic rescuing him involuntarily with a light shield charm over his skin. He rolled to his feet, suddenly becoming quite serious.

"_Imperio_!" he spoke quietly but with purpose. The four remaining clones stopped and turned on a bewildered Naruto.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?" he cried out to his duplicates—or at least tried to as no sound came out—while evading four different sets of limbs that assailed him without question. Instead of fighting back he simply dispelled them. Smoke filled the air, mixing erratically with the heavy steam that rose as Bridget finished quenching the last of the flames.

"Whew...," She wiped a hand over her sooty forehead and looked to see the two boys, blackened and bloodied, staring each other down as the haze swirled around them spectacularly.

Harry moved first, flicking his wand and hissing, "_Incarcerous_!"

Ropes shot forth and wrapped themselves securely around Naruto. The blond fell to his knees, unable to move his arms, his hands twitching at his sides.

'_That'll stop his jutsu,'_ Harry sighed in his mind, relieved he had won. Before he was able to take a step forward the ground just beyond his toes broke open and the next thing he was aware of was a strong fist meeting his chin, uprooting his feet from the ground. Harry was able to flip from the power of the blow, twisting his body in midair and landing on his feet, skidding several inches back through the smoldering grasses. Standing before him was a dirty Naruto grinning cockily at him with his arms crossed over his chest. Confused, Harry looked beyond the blond to the other look alike he had stuck with the curse. The bound form of Naruto poofed and Harry was greeted with the sight of Inuyasha's daughter tied in his stead.

"AHHHH!" Bridget screamed at her sudden quandary while glaring treacherously at the two, "Harry! I mean—Naruto! Damn you! Get me the hell out of these!"

Much to her contempt, she was once again ignored as the two boys fought back on taijutsu, moving farther and farther away from her. "Naruto! Is this because I called you harmless? I didn't mean it! NARUTO! Ugh, I hate boys..."

Naruto jumped through the trees, avoiding the magic enhanced blows Harry was raining on him. Both the boys were beginning to tire, the fatigue settling in on them as their movements became more careless, but Naruto would be damned if he gave up first. The scent of water became stronger and Naruto knew the river he sensed earlier was very near. Apparently Harry had perceived the same thing. The wizard sped up his movements, pumping more power into his fingertips. Naruto cringed at the tiny shocks flowing down his body. He lost his footing as part of his knee became numb and it was all Harry needed to get past the other's defenses, striking his palm into his chest. The hand sizzled with magic upon the impact and Naruto soon found himself speeding backwards out of the trees at a high velocity.

_'Yep. There's a river all right...'_ the shinobi thought to himself dryly as his descent carried him down to the large body of water. Harry leapt to the bank, his shoes sinking a bit in the deposits, and was immensely shocked when Naruto—instead of falling in water like he expected—simply skid across it on his toes, clearly staying afoot above the surface.

"No fucking way." Harry whispered, his wand nearly slipping out of his hand. He flicked it back into its arm holster to prevent that and opted to stare at the Jesus-like feat before him a little longer.

Back in the smoky clearing, Bridget had managed to wrestle herself to her feet; the binds were so tight she couldn't reach her wand that was snug in her back pocket (guess who she picked up that particular habit from).

"Alright," she pepped herself, blowing a few errant curls from her face, "I can do this. Harry's done it loads of times..."

She screwed her eyes shut and bit her lip, straining herself to focus on grasping her magical core.

'_Please work please work please work...'_

"_Finite incantatem!_" she said forcefully, focusing all her magic on the ropes.

To her immense relief the binds loosened and fell to the ground around her feet. Giggling happily, she straitened her clothes and brushed some imaginary dirt from her shoulder, then stalked over to the river so she could give those boys a piece of her mind.

Three jets of boiling water rose from the torrent near Harry's feet and fired at Naruto. Naruto made quick swiping motions with his hands as they neared, splitting each stream with wind chakra from his palm and sending six different sprays of water off harmlessly on either side of him. He wasted no time in instigating a long line of hand seals that took him seconds. He slammed his palms against the rocky water below him.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" he called out, only mildly shocked that his voice had returned to him. Harry too was surprised but had no time to contemplate Naruto's miraculously fast recovery as a massive cyclone of water shot forth from the river and struck him right on. After being spun about under the never ending current he was slammed into a nearby tree, forcing out even more air from his already drained lungs.

"Langlock!" he gasped out after falling to his knees in the muddy earth.

Naruto was horrified to find his tongue suddenly glued to the roof of his mouth. He hurriedly did the hand seals for another water based jutsu but without being able to mouth the words nothing happened. It suddenly occurred to him how much his stomach was starting to smart from all the moving about. His chakra canals were draining faster than usual having spent so much time trying to heal him from his recent near death experience...

"_Flagrate_!" a string of fire erupted from Harry's wand and Naruto had no choice but to release the chakra on feet and fall under water as fire shot overhead. Now underwater, barely able to move his jaw, weaponless, and fighting a wizard of all things...Naruto started to reassess his options.

Harry chucked at the boy's antics of avoiding his fire spell. He couldn't deny the kid was resourceful and clever with a natural ability to improvise during combat; he reminded Harry a lot of himself at that age. Several more seconds went buy and Harry frowned. Was he alright? Maybe something went wrong with that last spell and he wasn't able to breathe? Man, Inuyasha would be pissed if he killed the kid already...

The current of the river was disrupted as sudden, heavy, threatening ripples broke out all over the surface like water acne. A red glow could be seen pulsing from deep within, bubbling up towards the surface rapidly.

Harry had only blinked when Naruto was suddenly before him, soaking wet with red, demonic eyes and bared fangs; the whiskers of his face outspread and dark and wicked red chakra burning from his core.

"Fuck!" Harry swore, maneuvering his head to the side in time to feel a clawed hand scrape by his ear, tearing up a few pieces of hair. He went with his body's momentum, spinning himself back on his feet only to avoid another blistering-hot punch. The kid's movements were suddenly too fast for him to navigate. Naruto was able to land more and more hits on him—his body disappearing and reappearing in red flickers too swift for his capable eyes to see.

Bridget gasped at the demon-Naruto she spotted completely owning Harry as she arrived on the scene. Her hands gripped the bark of the tree she hid herself behind, tearing pieces off with her fingernails. That aura he was giving off...it was so _evil_...

Naruto roared as he sprung a kick deep into Harry's stomach. Specks of blood flew from the human's mouth and he was left rolling, tearing up grass and leaving a wide track in the dirt from his body. Naruto landed several feet in front of him as Harry struggled to pull himself back to his feet, wiping off a drizzle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Heh, alright kid, looks like you've left me no choice...," Harry growled, his voice suddenly becoming more gravelly. A purple aura pulsed around the crouched man and Naruto stilled. He could recognize an aura such as this—the aura of a demon. Harry's head was bent as he was still on all fours, his body trembling a bit with the transformation. The first thing Naruto noticed was the streaks of ebony hair that had begun to bleed sliver. He took a step back, the Kyuubi's demonic aura fizzling as it was threatened. Harry rose to his feet slowly, making sure to raise his head last to face his opponent.

Naruto was met with a pair of iridescent green eyes, inhuman and slitted. The silver strips on the sides of Harry's face stuck out sorely and the tips of elfin ears poked beyond the mess of black and silver hair. He didn't even have time to be surprised at this unexpected turn of events.

"Just remember kit...you started it," Harry barked out before pouncing on the—in his mind—lesser demonic being. Naruto rolled back with the spring, grabbing Harry's arms and kicking the larger boy off him and overhead. A scrapple began, filled with growls and bites and gashes.

"Oh man..." Bridget moaned, making sure to keep herself well clear of this fight. It was rare, so very rare, to see a fight like this. Two demons—and they were demons as their manner in fighting suddenly turned _very_ animalistic—grappling with one another, not to kill, but to play. She giggled out loud when Harry pinned Naruto beneath him and bit his shoulder, Naruto hissing and spitting and kicking at Harry with his legs. They looked like a pair of kittens. Of course it wasn't all cuteness. They were rough at times; trying to tear limbs from sockets, scratching inch-deep gashes with lethal claws (particularly in Harry's case with his poison), landing hits that would not only bruise, but damage internal organs as well...Bridget often found herself flinching violently throughout the fight.

The boys each received a huge burst of stamina when they chose to resort to their darker selves. They could take and dish out more pain, they were faster. It went on for many minutes, their carnal tussle, and as a result the area around them became increasingly disfigured. A missed punch would leave a crater several feet in diameter in the ground; a roundhouse kick sufficiently dodged could crack a tree in half. Bridget was beside herself swearing at them to stop and calm down and for the first time the boys seemed to hear her. Or rather, they did when she landed a couple of good stinging hexes on them.

Harry hissed and Naruto actually made a yipping-like sound at the shock of the spell—not as harmful as it should have been but enough to get their attention. Both sprang apart from each other obediently.

"Good. Now knock it off with the demon crap—" Harry was the first to revert to a completely human form, Naruto following shortly after. "Thank you—hey! No! No more fighting—_you guys_—!"

The second they were fully human the two sprang back into another taijutsu fight, leaving Bridget to the sound of her own angry voice. Naruto could feel the draining effects of loosing his power boost in addition to all the injuries he had accumulated since the start of the fight, but he refused to give up. This had had to be one of the longest, weirdest fights he'd ever been apart of. But damn, was it fun!

Harry was having a problem with getting his magic to respond to him properly—it had only been within the last couple of years that he'd been really utilizing it as he should have been since he left Hogwarts. He had used quite a bit of wandless magic mixed in the spar, a rather exhausting feat by any normal standards. Sighing, and resigning himself to the fact that he could no longer cheat by adding magic to his strikes, he continued to fight the slowing boy, pleased that he was finally starting to wear on the blond. Harry jumped, kicking at Naruto's head, which was blocked by a forearm, spinning and kicking with the other leg which was caught by a hand. He pushed off both arms and sent Naruto scraping back a number of feet from the force whereas he twisted and landed on his feet.

'_Time to end this.'_ Harry decided mentally.

Harry charged at Naruto while the other, exhausted, fell back into a weary battle stance ready to take whatever Harry had planned for him. Naruto's mind changed rather quickly when, while jumping in mid air, mere feet away from his own body, Harry transformed into a lengthy, giant cat. Yes, a _cat_. The black and silver beast landed heavily on Naruto's chest, effectively pinning the poor boy heavily into the ground—the thing had to have weighed a good few hundred pounds. Naruto tried to lift his head, but could only see the toes of two giant paws near his neck and a set of gleaming, sharp teeth hanging beneath a wet, black muzzle.

"...a n-nekomata...?" Naruto choked out when he noticed the sliver-tipped, forked tail swinging in the back, the pressure on his chest surely breaking some ribs.

"Alright, alright, that's enough you two." Bridget called out while trying to keep her voice as nonchalant as possible, though she couldn't deny the fight had been one of the coolest she'd ever witnessed. Perhaps the ninja wasn't as harmless as she thought. She hadn't seen anyone give Harry such a work out in a long time. "Harry wins. Now get off him before you kill him."

Naruto could have sworn the green-eyed cat grinned before it crawled backwards. He enjoyed the wonderful feeling of air filling his lungs as the unbearable pressure was relieved.

"You alright?" Harry was once again human and towering over him. A hand was stretched out, offering to help him up, which he readily accepted. He groaned as he was pulled to his feet. Yep, that sitting definitely broke something.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked incredulously meaning both the animal transformation and the sudden demonic change that had happened completely out of no where. A wave of dizziness crashed over him and he fought hard to keep standing. Apparently his chakra canals weren't quite full and ready to be used again so soon. Whoops.

Harry laughed meekly and ran a hand through his dirty hair. "We are going to have a long talk later and I'll explain...all that."

"Harry's a bit more than your average wizard." Bridget said brightly, walking between the two. Now that everything had settled down she was able to enjoy the end product: two attractive men with great physics that were hardly covered by the tatters that remained of their clothes. She would be having good dreams tonight. "You did pretty damn good against him. A couple times I thought he was going to go all out on you."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. Sure, he hadn't put his absolute all in it, but he certainly wasn't slacking. He had honestly thought he had a chance of winning against this guy a couple of times. Of course with each unexpected wild card Harry kept pulling out that possibility seemed less and less likely as the fight wore on.

"I was afraid that I was going to have to resort to using blood magic when you turned demon on me. That's my real forte, but Inuyasha wants me to exercise my magic more so I stuck with that. Thank God you don't know what you're doing or I would have had to have gotten serious."

"Don't know what I'm doing...?" Naruto repeated sounding upset.

"That wasn't an insult," Harry said hurriedly, "on the contrary, you're probably better than most trained demon hunters we have here." Bridget was besides him, nodded resolutely.

"Yeah, he was referring to your demon fighting style. It looked like you were mostly working on instinct. Sometimes it seemed like you were fighting the instincts rather than working with them."

"Working with them?" Naruto had spent a lot of his training back in the shinobi world trying to hoard his human side over the demonic instructions racing through his head whenever he used the Kyuubi's chakra. He wasn't honestly supposed to listen to what it was telling him to do, was he?

No more on the subject was covered as a furious voice cut across the site.

"Tum chuutya ho!"

Startled, all three turned to see a sufficient gathering of individuals garbed in turbans and kurtas and saris and dhotis, each looking more furious than the next. It was then Naruto and Harry happened to look around at the damage they inflicted on the environment. Words could not describe the sight that met their eyes. The earth was dug up, tumbled and pounded, littered with the remains of the most unfortunate of trees; parts of the ground were soppy while other parts still were seething from the earlier fires.

"Holy shit—!"

The two boys were dumbstruck by the wreckage. Bridget, still standing between them, shook her head disbelievingly and sighed.

"Well, I tried to tell you..."

"Chullu bhar muth mein doob mar!" the leader of the group of villagers called angrily at them, shaking a threatening fist in their direction.

"What is he saying?" Naruto asked, making sure to stay behind the taller boy.

Harry sighed, knowing it wasn't likely he would be able to train there again. "It's not nice. Let's go."

As both teens were within arms length he needn't move to grab a hold of both of them, shadow walking back to the kitchen of the Nagasaki household.

0o0o0o0o

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0o0o0o0o

When Inuyasha arrived home it was only to Kagome attempting to deposit some banana flavored baby-food into Caleb's mouth. The rowdy baby seemed to take great pleasure in dodging the spoonfuls of saffron mush his mother was futilely trying to feed him while often backhanding them in her face. Kagome leaned back in her chair and blew a stray hair from her vision.

"I don't know why I bother." She muttered, sensing her mate's presence the moment he arrived. Inuyasha chuckled and threw his jacket on the edge of the table, along with Naruto's bag of ninja goodies. He walked up to her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Where are the munchkins?" he asked, he smelled their scent, but it was fading.

"Dada!" Caleb cheered with his hands in the air upon seeing his father. Inuyasha grinned and poked his button nose.

"Hey, kiddo."

Kagome smiled at the interaction of her son and mate before answering him. "Bridget yelled something about sparring and they left before I could stop them. I swear if Harry gets too rough with that boy..."

"He'll be fine. Naruto seems like a tough kid. Actually, he is a tough kid; I just got back from his village."

Kagome perked up, "Oh, yes! How did that go? Will we be able to get him home?"

"In time, but—"

Kagome never got to hear the rest of the sentence because the three 'munchkins' arrived in a swirl of smoke. All attentions were immediately drawn to the two males of the group, both of which were ragged, burnt, soaked, bloody and grimy. Despite this, the cuts of their wounds were closing before their eyes and the bruises were fading back into a fleshy color. There was a certain glow to their faces; the curve of those cracked lips, the light in their eyes spoke volumes that the fight was greatly appreciated. Bridget seemed the physically best of out of the lot; her cheeks were smudged with soot and her hair a bit mussed but otherwise she was good.

"Inuyasha!" Harry yelled the second he was solid. He was pointing wildly at Naruto. "Inuyasha! He can walk on water! Why didn't you ever teach me how to do that?"

Kagome walked up to him before Inuyasha could comprehend the babble and rapped Harry on the head with the mushy baby spoon she still held. "You idiot! We just pulled him from Hell two days ago with serious injuries! TWO DAYS! What the hell were you thinking? Look at him! Just look at the state of you two. Honestly, you're an imbecile!"

"Ah...Kagome..."

"It's ok," Naruto quickly assured her, "I'm fine. I had fun."

Kagome only gave him a disbelieving look and tutted, immediately running her pink-glowing hands around his right arm to check if the fractures were impaired in anyway.

"How'd he do?" Inuyasha asked Harry while looking highly amused at the state of them. Kagome threw him a contemptuous look, disliking the fact that he seemed to approve of their actions.

"Not bad," Bridget spoke up whilst toeing off her sneakers. "They both ended up demon at the end."

Harry took a step away from Kagome for safety reasons while glaring at Bridget.

"Yeah," he spoke, "Did some hand to hand and then I started using magic. Those jutsus work like magic in some ways..."

"The ninjutsu does," Naruto explained, "I'm really no good at genjutsu though...those are illusions."

"Hmm," Inuyasha mumbled, "I'll have to see you fight sometime so I can evaluate you."

"Not anytime soon," Kagome grumbled, grabbing a wet washcloth and wiping baby food from Caleb's face.

"So, how'd it go?" Harry asked Inuyasha. Bridget appeared interested, and stopped on her way to the shower.

"How'd what go?" she asked. Inuyasha grinned, looked at Naruto, and pointed to a bag on the far end of the kitchen table.

"My bag!" he cried upon spotting it, rushing over to the table and opening it, pulling out tons of scrolls and weapons. "How did you get this? All of these? This was in my apartment! How—how did you fit all these in here?"

There was an inconceivable amount of items spread out for the small sack to carry alone.

"Magic." Four people answered back instantly.

"Ma-ma-ma-ma," Caleb sang, "Maaadgick."

"I managed to make it to Konoha by entering Hell and exiting through another dimension, namely the shinobi world." Inuyasha explained smugly, well used to his son's gibbering. Naruto suddenly felt completely energized, his face was flush with excitement.

"So I can go back?" he cried excitedly, literally bouncing on the balls of his feet, "How is everyone? When can I go?"

Inuyasha held up a hand that stopped the endless questions.

"I spoke with your Hokage, as well as her two assistants—"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto unwittingly breathed out. Inuyasha smiled as the blonde's face reddened.

"Yes. 'Sakura-chan' was there and was very, _very_ happy to hear that you were alive. She actually gave that Uchiha kid a piece of her mind."

"Oh—Sasuke!" in all the havoc in the last couple of days, Naruto had completely forgotten about his old rival. This sudden realization made him disregard the great improbability of Sakura chewing out the avenger over him. "Did you see him? Is he alright?"

"He's fine. Tied to a chair and being a complete bitch, but it seems he's going to be alright. There was something messing with his head but it's gradually receding."

"The cursed seal." Naruto said instantly. Inuyasha nodded, remembering Naruto mentioning something about that earlier.

"So what did you speak to the Hokage about?" Kagome asked, interested as well. She would be sorry to see the boy go; there was something about his bubbly disposition that drew her to him. Not in a romantic way, but in a gosh-you're-so-cute-I-just-want-to-adopt-you way.

"Oh yeah, well, I told them you were alive and in return they brought me up to date with this Akatsuki group that had been giving you trouble. As it turns out, the reason the Akatsuki were hunting down bijuu was for the sole purpose of world domination."

"What?" Naruto gasped. Harry groaned—if he ever had to hear phrase 'world domination' again he would stab himself in the throat with a pen.

"Mmhm," Inuyasha confirmed. "They're planning on collecting bijuu and controlling them to direct warfare and profit. They'll drive every other ninja village out of business."

"Oh shit," Naruto whispered, instantly realizing the implications. It would completely destroy their economy, "I have to get back there! I need to help them!"

This time Inuyasha was shaking his head negatively, earning him confused looks from Kagome, Harry and Bridget.

Naruto instantly became incensed, "What! Why not?"

"You're going to be training here for a while," Inuyasha replied simply.

"But Ero-sennin already trained me to fight Akatsuki. I could do the same thing over there." Naruto argued. He liked it here alright, and he liked the people too, but he missed his home. He wanted to see Sakura-chan and Tsunade-baachan and Ero-sennin. He wanted to fight for Konoha.

Inuyasha gave a low chuckle and dropped a heavy hand on the shorter boy's head, ruffling the blonde locks between his fingers.

"I won't be training you to fight Akatsuki," he said with an extraordinary grin, "I'm going to train you to fight the bijuu."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Fight scenes are not my forte. Dialogue maybe, senseless idiocy yes, but action, eh, not so much.

And yes, Harry used an unforgivable. He is a BAMF.

Someone asked if this would include a time skip or if it would be an epic in regards to the training. I think it will be a bit of a mix. There's a lot of training that he's going to be getting so I can't very well have it all be time skip, but I won't drag on the different parts of training either since I know most are eager for him to return to Konoha.

Thanks for the reviews! I love you!


	8. Yakkity Yak Yak

**Chapter 8**

Last time:

"_But Ero-sennin already trained me to fight Akatsuki. I could do the same thing there." Naruto argued. He liked it here alright, and he liked the people too, but he missed his home. He wanted to see Sakura-chan and Tsunade-baachan and Ero-sennin. He wanted to fight for Konoha._

_Inuyasha gave a low chuckle and dropped a heavy hand on the shorter boy's head, ruffling the blonde locks between his fingers._

"_I won't be training you to fight Akatsuki," he said with an extraordinary grin, "I'm going to train you to fight the bijuu."_

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"What?"

"What?"

"WHAT?!"

"Hehehehe..." Caleb giggled, clapping his hands at the repetitive utterances, particularly enjoying Harry's nonsensical outcry.

"F-fight...but I can't...that—that's not..." Naruto stuttered out, completely caught off guard, before blurting, "I don't understand."

"Fight the bijuu? Inuyasha, from what I know those are some pretty high class demons..." Harry said, sounding more disbelieving than Naruto. The kid proved himself to be good, especially while he still carried injuries, but even he himself would be reluctant to face demons of that caliber.

"Inuyasha, why don't you explain it to him a bit more thoroughly?" Kagome urged. Though she was just as lost as everyone else at her husband's logic she knew well enough that Inuyasha had a good reason for this. She hoped as much anyway.

"Yes, yes, don't worry." Inuyasha said which did nothing to calm down Naruto, who had grown up under the impression that it is impossible to kill a bijuu. "As I'm sure Harry's explained to you by now, demon hunting is a line of work in this world. While it's relatively new publicly, it's turned out to be a very prestigious career. There are plenty of ways for a human to kill a demon if they are trained the right way. There's no one like that in your world so I can understand that mortified face you're giving me right now." Naruto quickly tried to school his expression into one of unconcern to no avail. "And it helps that you're not entirely human yourself with the power of a bijuu within you."

"S-so...you're going to train me as a demon hunter?" Naruto asked hesitantly. The idea didn't seem as unappealing to him as it settled in his mind. In fact, if he could take down a bijuu then it would bring him that much closer to becoming Hokage. Heh, this wasn't such a bad deal after all.

Inuyasha nodded and gestured to Harry, "For now, you'll be under both our apprenticeships."

Naruto felt his eyes go wide and even Bridget was looking between the ninja and her father as if she heard wrong. If what Harry said before was true, then he being an apprentice to both of the world's most renowned demon hunters was a _very_ big deal in this world.

"All right!" Harry whooped, pumping his fist in the air. "I finally get an apprentice! Wait a minute...I didn't even pick him...you did..."

Inuyasha gave Harry a stale look, "Then tell me you didn't fight him in order to make an evaluation of his skills—while he was injured no less."

Harry just shrugged unabashed, knowing his opposition was just for show, and Inuyasha continued.

"There's more to it than that. The reason I'm doing this is so that there will be someone to put a stop to the Akatsuki's plan. Like I said before, demon hunting is not practiced in your world, and with the majority of bijuus already under their control the shinobi nations will have no choice but to comply with their demands."

"So you're training me so that my world will have someone who can go against the bijuu." Naruto concluded, understanding both the principle and weight of the responsibility he was about to take on. It didn't escape him that he would probably be the _only_ one with the ability to fight the bijuu—since he would be the only one left with that power outside of the Akatsuki. Talk about pressure.

"Ah, that good 'ol fate of the world business." Harry reminisced. "I'm so glad I'm out of that."

"You'll be going with him when he returns." Inuyasha said, making Harry sputter out resentful objections and Bridget giggle. Kagome smiled temperately at the group, secretly glad Naruto would be able to stay a little long so that she could smother him with affection. She never got to when Inuyasha was younger—the grumpy hanyou would never let her coddle him—and Harry didn't seem much taken with her when she first met him. But Naruto responded to her spoiling with the very dazed and embarrassed behavior she was aiming for that made her swash with fondness.

"How long will I be gone?" Naruto asked, this time nervously. If this would save the people he cares about then there was no question that he would stay as long as necessary. However, if things took too long the Akatsuki could cause irreparable damage before he made it back; he didn't want to return to find Konoha in ruins.

"First, let me ask you this," Inuyasha began evasively, "have you noticed any particular changes about yourself...aside from the normal growing up part?"

"You mean regarding my demon...?" Naruto asked. "Yeah. I mean, I've always had pretty sharp instincts and a lot of stamina...but they've been...growing I guess you could say. It's like I'm developing a sixth sense or something."

Inuyasha was nodding and to Harry this sounded freakishly familiar, as if he'd experienced it himself. He had been so intergraded with his demonic part for years that he could hardly remember the transition from human to non so long ago.

"As I would have expected. Well, to be blunt pup, as you're going through the final stages of puberty your body is going to begin to adapt to the Kyuubi's chakra that your own chakra has been steadily absorbing the past few years."

Naruto wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that. "What do you mean by adapt?"

"He means you're going to loose some of your humanity." Kagome said softly. That was the last thing Naruto wanted to hear and, despite the delicate way Kagome broken the news to him, it felt as though he had been struck in the chest with an ice pick of reality.

"So I'm going to be a demon? I'm going to look like one and act like one?" he asked, an unquenchable panic began to grip at his throat. He spent the last fifteen years of his life trying to prove to the village that he was not a monster, that he was just as much human as them. If he turned into an actual demon then...wouldn't that just prove them right? Were they right all along? Had he deserved the treatment they gave him?

"Hey, hey, it's not a bad thing." Inuyasha said when he saw Naruto's eyes loose focus and flicker across the tiled floor, lost within his own morose thoughts. "Look at me...and Harry..."

"And me!" Bridget piped up, "I'm a quarter demon, even if you can't tell just by looking."

"Your body won't change that much physically," Harry assured him, "and it shouldn't change who you are...much. I mean...I remember being a little agitated around humans, but that's just a phase that will pass when you're old enough. Trust me, you just have to get through the next couple of rough years and you'll be good."

"Actually, the physical appearance shouldn't differ much from when you use _his_ chakra. And I'm sure plenty of people have seen you like that. So don't worry about being judged." Inuyasha said as if he could read the Naruto's mind. It was kind of freakish if he actually thought about it.

Naruto could admit he felt a little better—still overwrought—but better after so much assurance from others who knew what was happening to him more so than he did. He gave them a weak smile to tell them as much.

"Good" Inuyasha said cheerfully, clapping his hands as if that settled everything. "Anyway, to answer your question, it really depends on the progress you show. My guess would be a couple of years."

"A couple of years?" Naruto said, not sounding at all pleased but resigned, knowing he'd have to work double time to get home as soon as possible. With the finality of his stay, the ache in his chest from that morning, once dulled by the thrill of a novel spar, returned with a vengeance, sneeringly reminding him of what he was leaving behind, or rather, who.

"A couple of years?" the same question was repeated by Harry—now his other new sensei—with dubious, raised eyebrows and probing undertone carried in his voice.

"You saw his shadow clones didn't you?" Harry essentially winced at the memory of the barrage he was subjected to. "There're more to them than you think; it'll help with his progress and absorbing information. Not to mention he shows a lot of potential overall."

"Really?" Naruto asked with shining eyes. So rare was it to receive praise when he first started his ninja career that when he finally began to show promise, every compliment was taken to heart. He wasn't fool enough not to see how powerful and important Inuyasha was to this world and the weight that his approval held.

The silver haired man only grinned and nodded.

"Well since he's going to be staying awhile...we should probably take him shopping and get him settled. Harry, you won't mind him staying with you, would you?" Kagome asked. She had lifted Caleb from his seat a while back and the youngster had happily snuggled into her shoulder, falling into a light snooze. The boy jerked a bit when Bridget began squealing in a typical teenaged girl-like fashion.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I take him shopping?! Pleeeease?"

"Tomorrow, Biddy." Harry said offhandedly once again saving Naruto from, in his mind, a fate worse than death.

"Right, you all need to stop trekking crap all over my house. Naruto, you're going to go to Harry's place, clean up, and go to bed." Kagome ordered. "You're still not fully recovered and I expect that there will be no more _extra-curricular activities_ until I deem him fit."

The last part was directed harshly at Harry who had the decency to look somewhat ashamed.

"It was a psychological thing really—"

"I don't care how your muddled brain skewed it into being right, go take care of him!"

Naruto was about to loudly make known that he could take care of himself just fine but the remaining sleeve of his (or rather Harry's) shirt was fisted in a strong grip and he was whisked away from sight.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"So...let me get this strait. When Inuyasha was our age—and that was centuries ago—the Powers That Be summoned him to...wherever they reside...in order tell him that it was his _destiny_ to master a rare power—"

"Blood magic," Harry threw in, nodding.

"Blood magic, right. So that he could train _you_ in blood magic and help you with _your destiny_, which was actually prophesized. Then he found you when you were my age, trained you, and then you jumped into Hell to save this special book—that was all about this blood magic—and used a spell to turn you into a half-demon so that you could survive in Hell."

"Less than half, actually, since I fucked it up. But that was a good thing since it meant I could continue to use my magic." Harry corrected, "Go on."

"And then you faked a death to the wizarding world when killing your prophesized nemesis, Voldemort, only for him to return from Hell three years later along with this Naraku guy that Inuyasha had trapped in Hell back in the feudal era—they stole the 'book' and became one all-powerful being named Braeden and began the Apocalypse."

"Actually, the Apocalypse began when the gates of Hell crashed at the turn of the Millennium—I had been newly appointed as guardian of the ninth gate so I got caught up in all that business. And Inuyasha died."

"Right," Naruto continued, trying to store away the vast amount of ridiculous information, "And then you went back in time 500 years—through a _well_ of all things—in order to get a younger version of the 'book' to bring Inuyasha back to life so that you two could combine bodies as well. As Shae."

"That was also when Kagome got involved again and got back together with Inuyasha."

"Okay. Then Shae defeated Braeden, dying in the process, and the PTB apologized for making your and Inuyasha's lives a living hell with all the destiny crap and granted you each a second chance...effectively bringing you back to life."

Naruto let out a breath of air after finishing the less than believable summary. If it wasn't for the fact that he was pulled out of Hell by a wizard and nursed back to health by a priestess and recently apprenticed by a hanyou he would have never have believed it himself.

"And all through the power of luuurve," Harry grinned, folding his arms behind his head and kicking feet up on the coffee table. The two had taken turns showering, dressed up in some comfy sweats and T-shirts and had been sitting in the living room of the apartment sharing more in depth knowledge of each other. Or rather, Harry was telling Naruto the finer details of his and Inuyasha's lives.

"Uh-huh," Naruto said dryly. "And I'm supposed to have this power of 'luuurve' as well?"

Frankly he didn't see what love had to do with any of it, not to mention he had next to zero relations with that particular emotion. Quite the opposite, really.

"Inuyasha seems to think so."

"Right. And what I think is law."

Naruto gave a sharp twist to his body as he saw Inuyasha standing next to the couch he was seated on; Harry looked up as well, not so quickly.

"Wh—how? I didn't even hear you...,"The man had just come out of no where. Naruto was good at sensing people within his vicinity, he had even learned to smell the distinct hazy undertones of smoke that shadow-walking left behind, but he received none of it with this guy.

"Yeah, he'll do that. Don't think about it too much." Harry burred, apparently very used to this. Inuyasha made himself comfortable on an armchair across from them.

"I'm guessing you're curious about this apprenticeship." He began and Naruto nodded. "Well, let me start off by saying this in no way means you have to call me or Harry 'sensei' or any such name. It just makes me feel creepy. Second, this is going to be kept under wraps for as long as possible which, unfortunately, won't be very long in this world. But I'm sure you'll find it easier to get around without the press up your ass. And maybe one day you'll be like Harry and get to the point where one good evil eye will send them scuttling away."

"Damn right," Harry said with a pleased grin. "Any questions?"

"Yeah." Naruto said and turned to Inuyasha, "I have a question. Can you only see in black and white?"

Inuyasha didn't miss a beat.

"No, but you should ask my brother that."

"You have a brother?

"Yeah...I don't think you're ready to meet him yet."

"Fine then, how old are you?"

Inuyasha grinned slyly, having expected this. Irrelevant as it was, it was always asked.

"How old do I look?"

Harry groaned at the familiar line. He had asked the same thing when he first met Inuyasha. And he received the same response.

"Um...twenty...seven?" Naruto ventured slowly, falling right into the trap.

'_Here it comes,'_ Harry thought dryly to himself.

"Close enough!" and Inuyasha cackled at the dismayed face Naruto sported.

"What? Aw, common, that's not fair." Naruto whined, "I'm hearing all these things about the feudal era and you and your twenty wives—"

"Twenty!" Inuyasha exclaimed, looking agape to Harry who shrugged.

"—and forty-something kids—"

"Child, you are severely misinformed," Inuyasha responded to that statement over Harry's choking laughs. Naruto didn't seem to hear him.

"—And you expect me to believe you accomplished all this in thirty years?"

"He'll keep whining until you give him a strait answer," Harry notified him. Inuyasha didn't seem at all concerned.

"Clearly he hasn't dealt with me before."

And Naruto quickly found that no amount of whining would aggravate the composed half-demon into revealing his age. Harry, on the other hand, had a temper about as short as they came and ended the incessant puling by taking a rolled up magazine to the blonde's head, accompanied by a few choice words.

"Now, are there any serious questions?" Inuyasha asked once the boys settled down on opposite ends of the couch—Naruto scowling and rubbing his head and Harry carelessly paging through the former weapon, unruffled.

Naruto snapped to attention, the foremost concerns coming to mind.

"Well, for one thing, how come I couldn't sense any demon within you?" he asked Harry. "I mean, I've been getting pretty good at it over the past year—I could even sense it in Bridget. But when I met you I didn't sense anything but human until you completely transformed earlier today. I still can't now."

Harry dropped the magazine and pulled his legs up and under him, getting comfortable before he answered.

"As you know I managed to turn myself part demon with a ritual using blood magic, and it went wrong, making me less than half demon. Eventually I got sick of living in a glamour charm every time I went out just to appear human, so a couple years ago I messed around with my DNA a bit more."

"Using blood magic?" Naruto asked.

"Of course. I managed to gain a similar ability to Inuyasha's, where I can change from human to non at will."

"That's convenient. Secondly, what the hell was that cat?" Naruto's face took on a chagrined frown, most likely because it was the tactic that lost him their spar.

Harry laughed. "I'm an animagus. Animagi are witches and wizards who can turn themselves into a specific animal. Mine is a Hell cat, or a nekomata as you called it."

The frown dropped from the blonde's face as his features did a one-eighty. "Whoa, cool..."

"May I ask something now?" Harry requested and Naruto nodded. "How the fuck is it that can you walk on water?"

It was Naruto's turn to laugh and he gladly explained the basic mechanics of chakra control to Inuyasha and Harry as best he could—to former picking it up much faster than the latter.

"Alright," Inuyasha said after a minute of processing the information and a quick glance at the clock overhead. "Here's the deal so listen up, both of you. Harry will be overseeing most of your training pertaining to fighting demons—I'll let him handle that as he sees fit. But, since you are both my apprentices, I want you both to broaden your facilities." He faced Harry, "At some point I want you to take him to the Hogwarts library and study on different demons and forms of magic he might encounter while here. In turn, you are required to learn about shinobi arts through the scrolls I got from Naruto's house. Mostly so you can be prepared when you go to his world." Of course Inuyasha neglected to mention that most of the scrolls were actually from the Hokage's personal library...

The two boys sat stock still, eyes dead with disbelief and lips moderately parted in their inability to operate to their defense. Inuyasha continued, inwardly smirking.

"In addition to that, I will be teaching Naruto Occlumency. It may help against the sharingan, since it happens to use some skewed form of Legilimency to enter the minds of their opponents and predict their movements."

"Whoa, wait a minute. Occlumency? Legilimency?" Naruto questioned, shifting his gaze between the two magical beings.

"Legilimency is the practice of invading someone's mind and seeing their memories. The more skilled a Legilimens is the easier they can manipulate the person whose mind they've entered. Occlumency is the only way to protect one's mind from such an attack. It takes a lot of concentration to learn both of them." Inuyasha paused for a moment and regarded the youngster in front of him. The blonde met his gaze, wide-eyed and eager—quite the change from his earlier reaction to having to study, "I suppose I could teach you a bit of legilimency too. Who knows, maybe you'll have more of a knack for it than this one."

A jerk of the head towards Harry left the wizard scowling at his mentor.

"I have better things to do than mental exercises," was Harry's lame excuse.

Naruto bit his lip as he thought on all the learning he was about to do. He knew it was necessary and learning techniques that could partially counter the sharingan was always a plus in his book, but studying was _so_ boring. Harry could read the ninja's face easily from his end of the couch; he shared the same sentiments about having to sit still and study.

"Of course you'll get to hunt demons too." The brunette assured him, "You don't spend that much time in my presence and not get attacked by something. We'll start off with the small ones and work your way up. Don't worry; it's actually really fun when you know what you're doing."

"Sometimes I think you have too much fun," Inuyasha remonstrated, rolling his neck and releasing a few late night cracks. "You and your games..."

"Games?" Naruto asked, looking between to two. Harry was grinning like a fool, making him seem even more like the nineteen year-old he misleadingly represented.

"Yeah! We come up with all kinds of games to keep things interesting. Organ fights, demon riding, DDH—"

"What's DDH?" Naruto immediately interrupted, seemingly rapt by the concept.

"Drunk Demon Hunting," Harry answered, "I'll take you sometime."

"No, you will not." Inuyasha said, suddenly sounding much more adult like. "I promised to bring him back _alive_, thank you."

Naruto chuckled and Harry rolled his eyes. It was obvious to Inuyasha that neither was planning on following that order. He sighed, resigned, knowing the whole while it was futile to keep it from happening. Tch, teenagers.

"I have one last question," Naruto said and the two guardians were suddenly all ears because this time his voice was quiet and less rough from its usual texture.

"Why me?"

Harry looked taken aback by the simple yet complicated query while Inuyasha relaxed as if it was the single question he had been expecting all night.

"Let me ask you a question first," the aged hanyou started, "How is it possible for a child to be so loving while growing up knowing nothing but hate?"

Naruto shrugged, not understanding how he was supposed to answer that or how it was relevant.

"It's not." Inuyasha said and comprehension seemed to dawn on Harry's face. However, Naruto was just as lost as ever. What was Inuyasha trying to say? He _was_ referring to him, right? Was he saying he couldn't love?

His confusion was displayed clearly to the others.

"To err is human, to forgive is divine. You ever heard that before, pup?" Inuyasha asked. Naruto nodded. "Naruto, when I first met the Powers That Be, they told me I had 'a divine ability to forgive those for their ignorance'."

It was at this moment that Naruto began to see where this was going.

"Believe it or not, this is not an ability that is natural for humans. Humans are meant to hold grudges, become spiteful, and want revenge. They mimic what they are brought up with. That's how abused children tend to grow up to be abusive themselves and failed marriages are often linked to growing up in a divorced household. Your friend Gaara had the right idea." Naruto's blue eyes widened further and a small gasp left his lips at Inuyasha knowing about the Kazekage. "'Learn to hate to protect yourself'. You just couldn't seem to grasp that concept, could you? Neither could Harry or I. We did our part, now it's your turn."

Naruto could understand, but at the same time his confusion was as great as ever. So he was a bit resilient to harsh situations, so what? Why did that make him worthy to take on such a great responsibility and be taught by such powerful beings? He had an inkling that he wasn't about to get much more out of Inuyasha—for the moment at least.

"But how do you know I'm one of you guys?" He settled on asking.

"One of us guys?" Harry repeated, his tone suddenly sardonic, "You mean the saving the world kind of guys? Because that's us. You mean the I-don't-want-to-do-this-but-aw, hell,-I-have-a-conscious-and-no-matter-how-annoying-these-people-are-I-have-to-help-them-because-they're-incompetent kind of guys? Yeah. That's us."

"He's still bitter about all that," Inuyasha loudly whispered with false conspiracy. Naruto chuckled and Harry threw a couch pillow at Inuyasha.

"Will the PTB ever call me over to them?" Naruto asked. He quickly regretted it when Inuyasha's face twisted into a small scowl and couldn't help but wonder if he had asked the wrong thing.

"Pup, I want you to _pray_ that you will never have to meet them. I know they gave me my life back and everything, and I'm grateful, but they are _assholes_."

Harry was nodding fervently. "Yeah, I only met them once and they pissed me off."

"Harry, everyone pisses you off."

"That's not the point."

Naruto felt the corner of his lip twitch upward at their interaction. The two seemed to have a very close friendship, like they could sit for hours and just talk about nothing and anything. He never had a relationship like that with anyone before. For Sasuke and him it was all action and silent understandings, and it wasn't until recently did he start a real friendship with Sakura. Perhaps it would have progressed to more if he stayed but he found it rather pointless to dwell on what ifs and would haves.

"Right, well you two should get to bed now. Hopefully Naruto will be up to one-hundred percent by tomorrow so we can get him fully settled and begin his training."

Naruto hadn't realized how tired he actually was until he stood up. His chakra was still halfway drained and his stomach gave an uncomfortable twinge at it stretched to accommodate his movements. He trudged down the hall to his room after giving the other two a semi wave. He idly took note that Harry and Inuyasha were heading for the kitchen but couldn't bring himself to care. He was much too sleepy.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Wasn't he supposed to be sleepy?

The single window of the tranquil bedroom was open to its fullest, the pale light of the moon stretched across the hardwood floor and over Naruto's bare stomach. He had discarded his shirt in favor of the warm August air that wrapped around his body. He lay spread-eagled atop the mattress of the bed—or should he call it his bed, now that he was going to be sleeping in it for so long?—with the sheets kicked down around his calves. The second he had lain down all feelings of sleepiness vanished and instead his entire state of affairs seemed to piece together in his mind's eye.

He didn't ask for this; he had just wanted to be Hokage. It was a simple dream requiring a lot of effort. He would work hard, gain the respect of the villagers, and spend the rest of his life protecting his beloved village. That was how it was supposed to be. But then he made friends, _real_ friends, and he got attached. Sasuke left and everything started to get complicated. The Akatsuki were just a minor thorn in his side, nothing mattered but saving his friend and bringing Sakura happiness—he could never be happy if she wasn't happy. It wasn't until Gaara lost his life to the organization did the danger become apparent. When it was just his own life that was threatened he couldn't bring himself to be concerned, but realizing how many other people were in danger—not just jinchuuriki but now every shinobi nation—brought to light a new menace.

He was the only one left with the power of a bijuu—the strongest bijuu—the only one who could challenge the Akatsuki.

He remembered what Deidara had said...how hosts of bijuu typically grow to loathe humanity. But that wasn't true. Not for him anyway.

Naruto turned on his side and curled his arms in front of him, one hand escaping beneath the cool underside of the pillow.

Maybe that's what Inuyasha was trying to say. Maybe it was because he didn't loathe humanity, but would rather willingly use his power—the power they had cursed him with—to save them.

The wall before him looked to be gaining color as his pupils sucked in what little light was provided and adjusted to the dark.

That's what he would do. He would save them because he was the only one who could. He would destroy the bijuu so that the only mass casualties would be done by humans, and they would have no one else to blame themselves. No more villages would be brutalized; hundreds of civilians wouldn't need to live in fear of shinobi and demons alike—they wouldn't have eyes filled with fear and hate and sorrow. He would rid his world of the bijuu for good.

But above everything else, he would put a stop to the creation Jinchuuriki. No more children would have to suffer the fates that he and Gaara and countless others had suffered. No more sacrifices. Not while he was around.

Determination renewed, he shifted to his back and pulled the sheets up to his shoulders. Konoha would have to wait. Sakura would have to wait. He was going to do this right.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"So, he's it, huh?" Harry mumbled through the cancer stick held loosely between his lips. His face was briefly highlighted by the flame of his lighter as he took a moment to light the cigarette. "Didn't the PTB say no more of this shit?"

"I'm kind of glad." Inuyasha replied honestly "To tell you the truth I was getting bored."

The two men stood out on the small balcony attached to Harry's kitchenette. The air was warm and there were few people left at this hour to litter the sidewalks below.

"But why him?" The wizard asked, smoke spilling from his mouth. Even if Inuyasha already explained it and the evidence seemed overwhelming, he still couldn't understand how a child from another world—who happened to share so many similarities with the former saviors—would just fall right into their laps.

Inuyasha leaned in with a cheeky smirk in place and flicked his first apprentice in the forehead.

"Parallel is not limited to two."

Harry stayed out on the balcony long after Inuyasha left, looking over the resting city and finishing up his cigarette. He decided, as he laughed quietly to himself and snubbed out his cig on the metal rail beneath his elbows, that he was glad too.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

If you made it through this chapter with your sanity still intact, give yourself a pat on the back. A lot of useless talking in this one, sorry, but I had to somehow fill all the gaps for those who have no idea what's going on with Inuyasha and Harry. And this just scratched the surface; we'll get more into the reasons for their personalities later.

My God, why did I have to make this so complicated? But it will get more fun. We'll check up on Konoha next chapter and time will move a bit faster. I'm getting sick of this day to day stuff!

And I'm so sorry for such a late update, but FFnet was being a biotch !!!

Thank you all for the reviews! I like feedback as much as I like...peeps!


	9. OceanSide Demon

**Chapter 9**

Sakura couldn't imagine herself happier as she gamboled down the familiar route she traveled near-daily to the Hokage's office for her morning training appointment. It was only yesterday that she had been informed of her favorite knucklehead's survival and her heart was still trembling madly at the thought of seeing him again one day. The only downside of course was that she would have to wait, but he was alive and temporary absence was a small price to pay. The villagers she passed along the way were not at all oblivious to the added spring in her step and every single one of them knew why it was there—after all, it was common knowledge throughout Konoha that she and the demon vessel were rather close.

It was all thanks to Gai and Lee that the entirety of Konoha knew of Naruto's endurance and shortly after every person who was present at his "death's" announcement individually went to the Hokage herself to verify it. After the sixth interruption from her work—or as others would more accurately call it: getting tanked—the buxom blonde finally up and told the full shinobi force that Naruto was indeed alive and that the details were confidential.

Of course yesterday had its drawbacks too. That being: the unwanted but unarguably necessary knowledge of Naruto's general upbringing. She had been asked by her master to fetch all medical records and files on one Uzumaki Naruto for Inuyasha-san—all of which had curiously been very thin and most incomplete. There were no great details submitted about the container but what little there was left plenty for the imagination to plug in. His medical records only kept account of how many times he had been submitted to the hospital, sometimes the length of stay, and very rarely the reason behind it. Apparently, either the doctors couldn't be bothered with taking the time to fully document the ailments of the demon or, more than likely, just didn't want future snoops such as herself to see what reasons a four year old child had for being hospitalized eighteen times in a single year. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought Naruto had some chronic illness with his in and outs of the hospital. According to what she learned Naruto was switched between being kept in an orphanage and being passed around under several caretakers until he was seven. However, after one too many incidents (of which few sketchy details were left) the Sandaime pulled a few strings and got the boy a temporary allowance to keep his own residence.

She felt as though she should be more upset about learning this; the trials and suffering Naruto had to endure, ones that no child should, had been over looked by the majority of his peers, she included. And she knew that even after all the digging and discovering and uncovering there was still so much she didn't know about the blonde. But Naruto didn't seem to want to wallow on the hardships of his past (unlike _some_ people); he only wanted to move onto the bigger and the brighter, forging his own future to his contentment. She knew that he wouldn't want her pity or even sympathy; he wouldn't want her to spend her time feeling sorry for him when he wouldn't even do that for himself. So she wouldn't. She would wait for him, count her blessings that he was alive, and try to help Sasuke until he got back.

Sakura sensed a familiar presence some feet ahead of her and risked her vision against the blinding rays of the sun. She grinned as she recognized the broad, vest-clad back of the figure and ran towards him.

"Kakashi-sensei! Hey sensei!!"

The special jounin turned to face her, consequently revealing the small green book in his hand that was being held open by his thumb pressed into the crease of the binding. Sakura slowed her running with an annoyed look on her face at how he was back to reading that disgraceful porn so soon after recovering from such devastating news. Kakashi had been the first to barge into the Hokage's office after catching wind of Naruto's survival. Unlike the other shinobi, Kakashi was filled in with everything that Sakura knew: that Naruto was currently in a parallel world receiving yet more training from a half-demon.

"Maa, Sakura, what's with the look?" he asked, though from experience already knew the answer.

"Put that away," she commanded frostily, "what do you think you're doing reading that smut in public?"

Kakashi bowed his eye happily, knowing she mostly scolded him for show. It was a sign that things were slowing dwindling back to normal. Sakura could feel it too, as there was warmth in her eyes to offset the cold tone she tried to use on him.

"When will Sasuke be able to leave the interrogation quarters?" his only female student asked, her voice no longer shaded with irritation but with genuine curiosity. Kakashi sighed and snapped his book shut.

"I would expect another couple of weeks at the least. Remember, he was in enemy territory for almost three years. There's a lot they need to drill out of him."

"Or try to," Sakura muttered as she continued her course to the Godaime. Knowing Sasuke, Ibiki-san had his work cut out for him.

"You off to see Hokage-sama?"

Sakura nodded. "And you?"

"I'd like to see if there are any missions available in tracking the Akatsuki." He answered as he kept pace beside her, "According to Jiraiya-sama there are only two bijuu left excluding the Kyuubi. Now that we know their motive the last thing we want to do is slack off on surveillance. If we can stop them from getting the last two demons we would handicap their power. Worrying about six demons is better than having to deal with eight."

Sakura nodded, agreeing to his point and secretly glad that he would confide in her his thoughts on the matter; it made her feel less like a student and more of an equal. They continued their walk to the tower with amicable conversation for the next few minutes, finally approaching the door to the Hokage's office only to find team eight at attention.

"Ah, Sakura. Right on time," Tsunade greeted as said girl opened the door with Kakashi in tow. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata all turned and stared at her with mixed expressions. Shino's face was completely inscrutable because of his jacket and shades so the most she could garner from him was a blank stare. Kiba was positioned next to him with a jagged grin, clearly reminded of Naruto's not-death by the sight of her and still excited by it. Last was Hinata, who granted her a small yet pure smile, most likely on the same basis as Kiba. The girl seemed to be positively glowing from some internal pleasure and the reasons were obvious.

Hinata, like herself, had actually broken down crying after hearing her crush was alive and Sakura was beginning to see more and more of a problem with the Hyuuga heir. She had hoped that over the years Hinata's conversationally-hindering crush on Naruto would have settled into a strong admiration, but the girl had continued to stutter and blush (and often times lose consciousness) whenever Naruto was around. Originally Sakura was only optimistic in thinking that Hinata letting go of him would make her more strong-willed and perhaps sociable since it was obvious Naruto wasn't about to notice anything anytime soon—it was in her interest as a fellow kunoichi and friend. But now, judging from the dainty blush spreading across those fine, porcelain cheeks decidedly born from the thought of seeing Naruto again one day, Hinata's crush appeared to have held fast. Now she was competition.

Though in terms of competition, Sakura knew she was definitely in the lead. After all, she had kissed Naruto, she had held him as he slept, and she had comforted him about aspects of his life he allowed no one else to see. They had a bond that no one in the Konoha eleven shared.

"_I don't think its any secret about how I feel about you..."_

She felt heat flood her chest cavity as she remembered those words he had spoken to her—his voice softer and deeper and saddened. He was so close to her; his face inches from her own, close enough to feel his breath kiss her lips, his arms had her completely encased and were holding her tight against his warm body. If she recalled correctly, he was also shirtless...

"Are you all right Sakura? You look a bit red."

Tsunade's voice cracked through her thoughts with whip-like brutality.

"Oh?" Sakura was startled to find herself reacting to her memories and blushed further, "Y-yes, Shishou! I'm fine."

—Though her heart hammering against her breast contradicted her words.

She took the time Tsunade used in addressing team eight's latest mission to compose herself. It wouldn't do to loose herself in her reminiscences—she wouldn't be seeing Naruto for a long time. Now a couple of years seemed such a stretch longer than the last time he left for training. Of course she had to keep in mind that this wasn't like last time when he was traveling with one of the sannin and the most she felt for him was camaraderie. This time he was in an unheard of territory enduring mysterious training from a man they know next to nothing about. So many unknowns were troubling to her, especially when her feelings for him now stretched far beyond that of mere friendship. As it stood, her heart ached for his company and her body ached for his touch.

Suddenly she felt like she couldn't make it the next couple years without him.

'_Naruto,'_ she thought, looking wistfully out the window as Tsunade droned in the background. _'Just what are you doing to me?'_

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"How the hell did I get suckered into this?" Harry moaned, trudging along side of his recently selected apprentice.

"You have no free will," his blonde haired companion replied with a similar stoop to his posture. "You are a Harry-bot."

There were times during Naruto's two year training trip that he was positive not even Orochimaru himself could think of more torturous and sadistic routines. Before now he had thought he had run every segment of his being through the worst of tribulation—the mental, physical, emotional, and, hell, even the spiritual. He was wrong.

"Believe it or not, I do not need this many clothes..."

Bridget scoffed and looked over her shoulder at the two males trailing ungraciously behind her, arms laden with bags of clothing and necessities.

"You don't know what you need. You're a boy."

"Come on Biddy, you've been playing dress up with him all morning. He has everything he needs for the next couple years and then some. We're done." The finality in Harry's voice left Bridget with no delusions that she could keep carting them around the Salem shopping district. It wasn't her fault; she just couldn't help but let the teenage girl in her take over, especially after seeing what remained of that horrendous orange track suit. If that boy was going to live in this world he would have to fit in and she would be damned if he looked anything less than delicious. He had the face, he had the body, and now he had the style. Really, this should be counted as community service.

She glanced once more behind her at the teenager in question and grinned. He was now donned in a personal favorite of hers: a pair of slim Express jeans (he had those hips like Harry's that could totally pull off the low cuts, squee!), and a Hollister tee-shirt with a desirable fit to his lean torso. Naruto didn't seem quite as pleased with her selections; he kept fiddling with the shirt, uncomfortable with how it hugged his chest, and his toes weren't used to being confined by the rubber and canvas of sneakers.

"Oh my God! My friends are going to love you!" she sighed, swinging the bags in her arms as she envisioned the envious looks of her friends as she exhibited not only Harry (who was a big hit when she could get him out in front of them—he was a world famous demon hunter, after all) but also the cute blonde who had miraculously fallen into their lives. "I'm definitely showing you off at my birthday."

Naruto could only throw Harry a pleading look but was disappointed to receive a pitying stare that clearly said: "There's no escaping. Just take it like a man."

"How old are you?" Bridget asked thoughtfully as they approached Harry's apartment complex.

"Fifteen," Naruto replied, already knowing the girl would be turning sixteen in a few days time.

"Ha, baby."

"I'll be sixteen in October!" He said hotly. Sometimes he hated being so young compared to others in his age group, especially since he was constantly being referred to as the baby of the rookie nine.

"Oh! That's great then!" Bridget said brightly over her shoulder, entering the building that would take them to their destination. "I'll wait to get my permit and we can both take Driver's Ed together! It'll be fun!"

"Driver's Ed?"

"Hey, there's an idea," Harry said, actually liking the idea the younger girl brought up. "You'll need a license if you want to drive that motorcycle legally. Though, you should probably learn how to drive cars too."

Naruto grinned. He still hadn't forgotten about that enchanted motorcycle of Harry's—anything that could go that fast was something he would like.

"Wait, Harry..."

A disturbing thought had suddenly just occurred to him as Harry opened the only green door amidst the red ones that lined the hall—otherwise invisible to muggles—that was so random and off topic but so appropriate in timing.

"...you're twenty five and she's not even sixteen—"

"Don't continue that sentence!" Harry cut in sharply. "There is nothing going on between us."

"Not at the moment," Bridget cut in slyly, dropping the bags in her hands on the couch, "but I've been breaking him in over the last several years so that when he's finally ready to admit he loves me there won't be anything to put strain on our relationship. That's how most fail, you know. When the girls are in the process of breaking in their boys and the boys can't take it. But we won't have that problem, will we hunny?"

The two males in the room did not reply, both frozen with an odd mixture of understanding and horror as they were granted a rare glimpse of the female psyche.

God have mercy on them all.

Thankfully, the boys didn't have much time to weigh it up as a soft beeping went off by Harry's hip. The young wizard checked the beeper and shot Naruto a grin.

"Well, I guess now's a good a time as any to get started."

Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"Huh?"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Inuyasha riffled through the papers on his desk, separating the filled out forms from the void and preparing on riding Harry's ass about completing them. That pup really needed to learn how to organize his files better. However focused he appeared to be on the task at hand, his mind was elsewhere, planning all the things he wanted to try out on Naruto. There were so many theories and questions running through his mind, so much potential that child was capable of. He was different than Harry; both weaker and stronger in his own respects. He wanted to test out every speculation regarding that boy's capabilities. Unfortunately, as of now, he wouldn't have the time to mull over those possibilities as he would be in the company of a guest.

Though Inuyasha could sense the wolf-demon's approach long before he arrived on his property, he was unprepared for his longtime friend to kick open the front door and force entry into his residence.

"You have a ninja?" Kouga cried, panting not from exhaustion but excitement. The man apparently took the day off from his business as he was dressed in casual attire and his illusion was dropped, leaving his tail and pointed ears exposed to all.

"Why, come on in Kouga. Would you like some refreshments?"

"Like a real ninja? Crouching tiger, hidden whatever, nunchucks ninja?" Kouga continued, ignoring the sarcastic greeting. Inuyasha persisted in his game as he abandoned his stack of paperwork.

"Some tea, perhaps?"

"No, seriously, Inuyasha. Because Kagome told Ayame some crazy story about you rescuing this ninja and I haven't seen a ninja in the last two centuries."

"We have some juicy clementines if you're interested."

"Inuyasha!"

The younger man laughed and scratched at one of his ears.

"Yeah, yeah, I have a ninja. He's my apprentice."

As expected, Kouga's eyes rounded at everything that implied. This kid had to be interesting. However, he hadn't forgotten Inuyasha's first apprentice, and no matter how good the cub got he wasn't quite ready to be independent.

"What about Harry?"

"Don't worry, I haven't abandoned him. He's his apprentice too. We're sharing him."

Kouga's lip quirked, "Hmm, if I recall you two aren't so good at sharing."

"We are when it matters."

"What about that time the two of you tried to share a laptop?"

"What about it?"

"You ripped it in half and took the keyboard part!"

"Yeah, that's a great example, except he's a boy, not an electronic appliance."

Kouga rubbed his forehead, "Fine. But I want to meet this kid."

"You will," Inuyasha assured him, "He'll be around for the next couple of years."

"Yeah? And knowing you you've got a bunch of crazy shit planned out for him," the wolf ventured while shaking his head ruefully. He almost felt sorry for the cub, knowing Inuyasha as he did.

As if reading his mind, Inuyasha smirked, "Well now that you mention it...apparently he's proficient with this wind element..."

"Yeah?"

"Mm, with chakra the wind element is related to cutting. It can make weapons more deadly by giving them a sharper texture."

Kouga arched an eyebrow, "You got one in mind?"

A wily smile slipped on the hanyou's face as he leaned back in his chair.

"I need to make a call to my brother. Or more specifically...I'd like to borrow something from his antique collection."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Now where are we?" Naruto asked after being shadow-walked to a new location, though it was a pointless question. Salt burned at his nose and the winds were rough, the calls of seagulls and crashing waves filled the air and beneath his feet was the rock-ribbed crust of an ocean-side cliff.

"Hmm...Second class..." Harry murmured and appeared to be completely ignoring the blonde in favor of circling the dry ground beneath them. He walked close to the edge of the crag and glanced down it, noticing the tremulous water thrashing against the rock wall some forty feet below.

"Well...you ready to kill your first demon, kid?" Harry asked, stepping back and looking to Naruto. Naruto gave a big, unconfident grin.

"Nope."

He didn't know much about demons yet, but he knew second class demons were pretty hard for the average demon hunter—not something he thought he should start out with.

"It'll be fine. I'm here to make sure nothing goes wrong and I'll help you if things get out of control."

"There isn't even a demon around..." Naruto mumbled, cursing the thick salty air and the deafening waves for impeding his senses.

"Concentrate. I know you can sense auras. You just need to hone your skills a bit, and under the pressure of a blood thirsty demon lurking around is the best way to learn."

'_Great,'_ Naruto thought. He had a feeling Harry had a similar teaching method to Jiraiya's—the kind that involves throwing a prepubescent child down a ravine just to get a point across. Nevertheless, he closed his eyes and tried to sense anything demonic. To do this usually called on pulling a bit of the Kyuubi's chakra forward; there was something about demons that attracted their auras to one another. He could sense a flicker of something down below...way down below...it wasn't that big...surely not big enough to be second class, right?

But it unexpectedly began to grow, as if it were rapidly approaching. He opened his eyes and took a step away from the cliff.

"Be human when you're human and demon when you're demon. Got it?" Harry asked, though when Naruto turned around he was no where to be seen.

"Uh..."

Naruto had no time to even contemplate what was just spewed at him. The demon—a large, fearsome beast of bronze coloring with a wingspan of at least fifty yards—burst upwards from behind the cliff he was standing on, sending him tumbling backwards.

Naruto stood there for a moment as the beast hovered far above in the air, its massive wings hailing knee-buckling gusts of wind upon him. Its neck was lengthy and at the end it sported a small round head that appeared to only consist of a mouth full of jagged and broken teeth; there were no eyes or nose that he could tell of. It had four legs, each reptilian and clawed, the front two possessing what would have been opposable thumbs had it been more humanoid. The last notable feature was a long, thick tail that resembled that of a stegosaurus with the four spikes protruding from the tip in a square formation. All in all, Naruto felt a bit screwed.

The creature let out a screeching cry as it took sight of the young mortal below it (though how this was done without eyes would remain a mystery) and dived with such speed and precision Naruto could only manage a kawarimi to get away. The body that the demon blew through poofed into a loose stone from the ledge, leaving the brute temporarily stalled in wonder about the whereabouts of the boy.

Naruto dashed forwards with a strong fist, leaping high behind the demon, and drove it downwards to the back of its neck. But the creature of such massive stature moved out from underway in the blink of an eye and Naruto's fist ended up digging into the ground. He swore, turned, and dived as an ivory claw swiped at his head. This thing was fast, and could sense him in an instant. Even after conjuring several clones, not one of them could manage to get close enough to land a hit and even if they did blows and kunai simply bounced off the dragon-thick skin.

Naruto wasn't worried, however, as he had yet to dig into his jutsu arsenal. The problem lay in buying enough time to create the handseals as the slithering, flying monster only seemed to get faster. But hey, that's what clones are for—they only need a ram seal.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Thousands of clones popped into existence surrounding the scaly beast that was currently aloft.

"Uzumaki Naruto Nisen Rendan!" every Naruto yelled, not only blinding the demon from the real Naruto but also procuring its hearing. From his perch on the grassy hillside several licks away from the fight, Harry got to see first hand the combo that he was struck with just yesterday, though on a much larger scale. Naruto had to have known pounding on the demon from all angles with just fists would do nothing but piss it off more. The boy was currently running through a series of handseals as the demon took out his clones faster than he anticipated using tail, claws, and teeth.

"Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!" he cried, slamming both palms on the ground as the demon swooped down on him vehemently, its blood lust physically radiating due to its delay of meal. The demon crashed headfirst into the wall of earth that rose and surrounded the boy; its neck bent oddly before snapping strait again. The demon shook its head wildly, releasing a mighty roar; this one deeper than its usual shrieks. It began to beat its skull repeatedly on the wall which soon began to crumble under its unnatural strength.

Thinking fast and using his resources Naruto called out another jutsu.

"Suiton: Gekiha Enchuu no jutsu!"

A howling was heard as the ocean below swept up in a thick, powerful cylinder, rising far above the cliff's edge before arching and bringing the weight of the water down onto the demon in a crushing blow. The mass and shape of the salty liquid was equal to slamming a giant sledge hammer into its back. The demon made an odd squealing noise and stumbled away from the decimated rock dome, limping from a broken spine.

Though an attack like that should have killed it, Naruto supposed he would have to get used to his more powerful jutsu not working efficiently against demons. He allowed what was left of his earth wall to crumble away. The second he became completely visible to the demon it appeared to have recovered to a certain extent, suddenly more lively as its pain receded in respects to a juicy meal. Much to Naruto's surprise its wings began to flap, bringing it airborne once more.

"Not this time," Naruto growled, hoping he had injured it enough to hinder its movement, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

Golf-ball sized spheres of water shot out of his mouth as he aimed the projectiles at his airborne target. The demon twisted and twirled, gaining speed at it dodged every water bullet, much to Naruto's immense irritation. Now he was really ticked. He broke the thing's spine and it still regained its agility in no time. His anger was short lived as aid came to him in the form of his guide.

The demon squawked as it was jerked in mid air, allowing the last two pellets to strike its lower belly and a spike of its tail. Craning its extended neck it caught sight of its tail being strapped tightly by thin vines of blood. These vines led back to the terrain, the base of which was wrapped around the left arm of a taller male. It roared once more, thrashing its tail about in hopes of uprooting the apparent human, but the boy stayed firmly grounded.

"You don't need to hold him; I got it from here."

"You sure?" Harry asked, though he was already loosening his grip on the bloody vines.

"Yeah—now I can show you some real jutsu."

Just as his blood vines completely dissipated Harry noticed two clones of Naruto up rise behind the demon. When he made these clones, he didn't know and he didn't care, because at that moment he was more focused on the large swirling mass of blue and white energy gathered between their hands.

"Odama Rasengan!"

Both clones thrust their arms forward, and with it the spiraling sphere, to the base of the neck. The demon seemed to realize a second too late that it was in danger and veered off to the side, it managed to evade the killing blow but the maneuvering brought its left wing into the line of fire. The entire appendage was torn off as the unstable rasengan exploded, taking out the two clones that made it. The demon screeched deafeningly as it crashed towards the ground, its remaining wing beating fruitlessly to keep it in the air.

"Not ba—," Harry broke off as he realized Naruto wasn't on the ground where he was last.

"Fuuton Rasenshuriken!"

His head snapped back to the falling demon in time to see two more clones on the ground disappear in soft plumes of smoke, leaving the middle one—no doubt the real one—directly beneath it with an even larger, four-pronged rasengan held high above his head. Naruto leapt to meet the demon mid-air, the jutsu leading the way, and planted the attack into the fleshy belly of the beast.

There was one last, resounding shriek from the demon which was cut off prematurely as the rushing winds drowned it out, consuming its being and tearing it up so fast, so much, that the largest part of its remains that rained on the ground was the tip of one of it's tail spikes. Naruto landed thereafter, stumbling a bit before catching his breath. Harry approached with a wide grin.

"Aw...and you didn't even have to go Kyuubi. Well done."

Naruto smiled back. That had been almost...fun. He was sure once he got more advanced in the art he would enjoy it as much as Harry seemed to. Harry stopped just before reaching the blonde and picked something off the ground. It was the spike remnant, about two inches long, opaline and still sharp.

"You should keep this," he said, handing the glinting trophy to Naruto who accepted it with curiosity, "think of it as a memento of your first demon kill."

"But it won't be the last," Naruto replied cheekily and Harry found himself agreeing: that last jutsu was a winner.

"We don't tell Kagome about this," Harry said mostly out of fear for his own life. Naruto made to agree by nodding but winced instead, his left hand immediately flying to his right arm as the jerky motion aggravated the appendage. He forgot...this was the part he hated about fighting, the aftermath when the adrenaline and elation wore off and all you were left with was pain.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked. Sure the demon had smacked the boy around a little, but he hadn't seen Naruto take any significant hits that would cause his arm pain. It wasn't even the arm that was shattered from Hell.

"Eh, heh heh heh..." The half sheepish, half guilty look his young apprentice was sporting was not comforting **at all**. Naruto quickly explained to Harry the consequences of using that particular jutsu and Harry soon learned that Kagome would indeed be finding out about the extra-curricular activities he was supposed to be preventing Naruto from participating in.

In the long run, after mentally comparing the recent battle with his own first kill, he felt it was worth it.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

...someone asked me if "to err is human, to forgive is divine" is an actual saying.

Yes.

It is.

A very old one that is pretty much recognized everywhere.

Gave you some hints of NaruSaku-num-nums to help hold you off during the training separation.

Some of you may have a pretty good guesses regarding this weapon Inuyasha is talking about. That coy little doggie. Those many ideas I hinted at will be very significant to Naruto's development.

Okay, real time skipping starts now. I'm talking weeks, months, the works.

Thanks for all the reviews, the nice and the not so nice, because believe it or not I try to take in advice (no matter how much it hurts my ego DX ) ;3


	10. Winds of Change

**Chapter 10**

Uchiha Sasuke was the kind of guy who made you think back to that popular heart-throb of your graduating class...

...and then to when you saw him at the ten year reunion: overweight, single, and a taxicab driver of all things.

Or at least that's how he felt at the moment, sitting on his cell floor with dirty hair and insensible eyes. His arms were draped limply over his knees, his feet bare and flat against the cold, cracked cement floor, all confidence from his posture eradicated from his hunched shoulders.

Now why did it appear his very spirit was broken? Surely, after living with Orochimaru for nearly three years, little over a month's worth of interrogation should not have defeated the proud Uchiha Sasuke. It had certainly seemed so at any rate; the first couple of weeks he had remained remarkably tight lipped, often sneering at his questioners when he became too irked with their inferiority while and all through the burning pain in his neck.

He couldn't see the mark without a mirror handy but he knew something was happening to it; he could feel a part of himself being drained away. It was through the jounin Anko that he learned exactly what was happening to him: the tainted part of Orochimaru that was planted inside his very chakra was dissipating. In other words, with the snake sannin's death, any and all remnants of his being were being exterminated, following him in the afterlife. When he was first informed of this news he was furious at the loss of power. Had those the three years he sacrificed of constant training under the sannin for naught?

Even now, when he could no longer imagine how he had made it with that vile contamination within him, he didn't know the answer to that question.

It was by the third week of imprisonment that he began to feel something start to manifest deep within his mind, gradually spreading and consuming his consciousness; something that he hadn't felt since the night of his clan's massacre.

Guilt.

Over time this guilt started to seep into his psyche; he began to see more and more flaws to his past actions. At first he chalked it up to being his return to Konoha: it was making him soft, gave him too much time to think and doubt himself. But he later learned that it was the slow disintegration of the cursed seal. It was like his once narrowed vision began to broaden. He could find other things that mattered to him besides revenge and power. Hell, he even started craving foods again, something that he hadn't done in years. He felt...human again. He hadn't even noticed his humanity leave him. It was then that the information began to spill forth into Morino Ibiki's lap, hoping it would serve as some kind of repentance for his crimes against Konoha. No, not Konoha, his friends.

And that was what left him completely beaten on the lowest floor in the interrogation quarters of Konohagakure. He wanted to talk to Naruto, badly. He needed to apologize for so many things: for breaking their friendship and throwing it in his face, for trying to kill him, for hurting him with more than just words. What was that feeling? That feeling he had during the chuunin exams as he watched Sakura get pinned to a tree unconscious and Naruto getting kicked around by a semi-transformed Gaara while he was near powerless, his body having hit the wall. It was fear. Not the fear for his own life that left him paralyzed before his brother ten years ago—it was fear for their safety far above his own. He _cared_.

He had been played strait into his brother's hands from the beginning. His brother told him to run, to live, to hate...and he did. His brother abandoned his village, betrayed his family, and did the unthinkable to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan. As did he. He spent the last decade of his life believing it was his destiny to be an avenger. But who was he avenging? His family? Or himself? His family would have wanted him to uphold and honor the Uchiha name, not by wasting his whole life by chasing down Itachi, but by protecting Konoha with the dignity and grace of its most prestigious clan. Instead he disgraced the name by running to the man who attacked his village, betraying and hurting his friends in the process, abandoning all morals for his own petty solace. Now in retrospect, without Orochimaru's damnable cursed seal impairing his judgment, he could think of a hundred different things he should have done instead.

He heard a door outside of his vision open and quiet footsteps approached. He could tell by the pattern, pace and density of each step that it was female, young, and light-figured. His first guess was Sakura—the girl had visited him frequently trying to get him to warm up to her and was initially ignored out of contempt (he was still sore about her opinion of his worth compared to Naruto's) then, more recently, ignored out of shame. He was mildly surprised when a head of dark violet—not pink—hair came into view before the rusted bars of his cell door. He could recognize those pale eyes anywhere—a Hyuuga. Hyuuga Hinata, to be more precise. He was sure he must have seen her on the day he first arrived to Konoha though he felt like this was the first time in three years; she must have been in the room as well but he had been so furious with his dilemma that he hadn't noticed her. Not that he had ever noticed the wallflower before; he was only vaguely aware of her pitiable crush on his teammate and Naruto's even more pathetic oblivion to it.

What caught him more by surprise was her appearance, or rather, his reaction to it, because the very first thing he noticed was her sizable bust even through the heavy jacket she wore. This concerned him very much as he was Uchiha Sasuke and he did _not_ ogle girls' breasts. It seemed his hormones were something else that had returned to him with the loss of the cursed seal, and now that he wasn't twelve but sixteen and that much more at the mercy of his own body, he was left almost wishing that he could stay in this cell forever in fear of how he might respond to fan girls now. That is, if he had any left.

"H-hello Sasuke-san," the heiress began in her demure voice. She wasn't slouching, he noticed, and while there was more confidence in her posture she didn't seem to be looking down on him in any way. "I've been sent to escort you to the Hokage's office."

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. The only other place he had been allowed besides his cell was the interrogation room. He stood stiffly as she opened the door to his prison, the metal releasing a cringe-worthy screech in its old age.

"Does she wish to interrogate me personally?" he asked in his low voice. She did not make to put any restraints on him and instead motioned for him to follow along side of her so that she could keep him in her peripheral without having to resort to using her Byakugan.

"Oh...n-no...I believe that they are going to begin your probation...," she said unsurely, as if afraid she was relaying the information incorrectly. Sasuke almost smiled—almost—as this would mean he would be allowed back in his estate.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, even if it were unclear on what he was thanking her for. Though his face remained passive the Hyuuga eyes could not miss the stretch of the neck, settling shoulders, and gratification in his eyes. Against her better judgment, Hinata blushed.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Hahahaha...oh man...hehe...I can't believe he got you with that—!"

"Sh-shut up!"

But Harry did not shut up. In fact, he only laughed harder as the memory of his apprentice getting hit inches away from his crotch with a jet of acidy spit from, not the demon itself, but a growth-like mini head protruding from its neck replayed in his mind over and over again. Naturally Naruto wasted no time in blasting that particular expansion off and then settled on the demon's real head. Currently, said blonde had his arms crossed and wore his trademark pout, cheeks puffing out and whiskers broadening across the skin.

"Honestly, kit," Harry wheezed as he wiped a tear of laughter from his eye, "didn't you see that thing speaking before? It obviously was there for a reason."

"I thought it was a wart or something!" Naruto defended, frowning down at the baseball sized hole in the upper thigh of his pant leg. Naruto shuddered. If that had been only two inches more to the left... "It seemed harmless when I was fighting the demon!"

"I think you just lacked vigilance."

Naruto's scowl only lasted a second longer before it transformed into an impish grin and he slapped Harry on the back in a deceivingly friendly manner with a little too much vigor.

"FUCK!" Harry yelled, hopping away from his former source of his amusement. His arms grappled fruitlessly behind him as attempted to somehow stop the stinging throughout the long gash that ran between his shoulder blades.

"What was that about vigilance?" Naruto asked with false indifference. After all, it was Harry who was caught off guard by a demon resembling a large praying mantis, taking a scythe to the back.

"Evil," Harry muttered with a dark look, "...evil..."

"Hater," Naruto shot back.

"You wish small fry."

Naruto made another swipe at the elder's back but his hand was smacked down with a stinging, thin whip of blood.

For the last three months Naruto spent nearly everyday training or fighting demons. Some were easy, third-class demons that had managed to scamper their way out of some small loophole in the barrier separating Hell, and some were not so easy, often times requiring Harry to step in at some point.

He could now appreciate why the bijuu were thought to be impossible to kill by humans back in the shinobi world. He had found that when using jutsu against demons he had to force nearly twice as much chakra into each attack in addition to using the higher ranked and more destructive ones. While this did drain him faster it also built upon his already impressive chakra reserve. It made him realize that the average shinobi would find it impossible to expend this much chakra on a jutsu let alone multiple to take out a demon. No wonder demons were considered indestructible...

"When are you going to teach me blood magic?" Naruto asked while rubbing his smarting finger. There was a tiny scorch where Harry had struck him but it was already being soaked up by fresh skin.

It had occurred to Naruto about a month into training and after taking a substantial number of injuries that his regenerating ability—courtesy of the Kyuubi—was developing. Fighting demons was way more intense than fighting shinobi, the largest difference being the scale on injuries. He would have thought that under the strain and high demand for fast healing (he was usually struck many times in a fight and couldn't afford the time to recover) his regenerating ability would have been impaired some, but it seemed the more he got hurt, the faster he healed. It was like exercising a muscle—you take the pain while working it but afterwards it repairs and builds up.

"We haven't even showed you the book yet. Besides, you have elemental training with Inuyasha today."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto grinned. He loved training with Inuyasha, mostly because he was such a character, but also because it brought him that much closer to mastering one of his more preferential weapons.

_:: Flashback seven weeks ago::_

"Oi, pup! Get in here!"

Naruto ran into the house after hearing Inuyasha's beckon, quickly drying down with a towel so he wouldn't get yelled at by Kagome for leaving puddles of chlorinated water from the pool he, Harry and Bridget were playing in. Oh sorry, chilling. Teenagers do not play.

He quickly found Inuyasha in the living room, smiling like always. Normally Naruto would have responded with a simple "yeah?" or "what's up?" but today was different.

"What the hell is that?"

He was, of course, referring to the mushroom colored, mammoth boomerang resting against the wall next to his mentor. It glinted from the ceiling lights, clearly well cared for and polished. A leather shoulder strap ran from one rounded end to the other as it was meant to be carried on the back. Something told him in the back of his mind that it would not remain this pristine for long.

"This," Inuyasha grabbed a hold of the top end and pulled it away from the wall so that it was perched upright, standing a little above his shoulders, "is your birthday present!"

"My—," Naruto cut himself off, not knowing what to say. It was an impressive weapon to say the least though he had no idea how it was used in battle. He reached out to touch it; the cool ware was smooth and expertly crafted.

"It's called Hiraikotsu," Inuyasha explained, smiling and stepping back to allow the boy to examine it, "It once belonged to one of the greatest demon hunters I ever met...one of my first friends."

Naruto's head snapped up to meet Inuyasha's softened gaze.

"It's made of demon bones," he continued, "so it's extremely sturdy and resilient to other attacks. It works great as a shield, but foremost can cut through most demon hides—often multiple at the same time."

"Wow..." Naruto awed, turning his attention back to the ancient weapon in his possession. He tried to lift it with some difficulty. It was certainly solid bone; the thing had to weigh at least forty or fifty pounds.

"Are you going to train me how to use this?" he asked, excitedly. Inuyasha nodded.

"Yep. But can you tell me how you're going to make this weapon even more awesome?"

Naruto didn't even have to think about that.

"Add my wind chakra to it, of course!"

"Got it in one, pup."

"Can I keep it in a scroll for now?" Naruto asked, already heading towards the cupboard where he stored some spare scrolls (he liked to leave his ninja gear in both Inuyasha and Harry's residences).

"Sure..." Inuyasha said slowly, watching as the boy pulled out a blue-tipped, empty scroll, a brush and some ink. "And it's 'May I'."

Naruto ignored the grammer correction as he settled on his knees in front of Hiraikotsu, rolling out the scroll before him and immediately beginning to decorate it with unknown calligraphies; his wrist flicking across the once clean parchment with practiced expertise. He then made a few quick hand seals and a puff of smoke later left the Nagasaki living room void of one giant boomerang.

"That," Inuyasha said, "was pretty damn impressive."

Naruto gave his signature foxy grin and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah well...I did spend the last two and a half years training under a seal master..."

"Naruto! Get back out here! I need help!" a feminine voice screamed from outside followed by a series of squeals and splashes. "Harry's trying to take my virginity!"

"He damn well better not be," Inuyasha growled, immediately going to the window.

"What the hell?!" Naruto could hear Harry yelling back, "I'm on the other side of the bloody pool!"

_::EndFlashback::_

It was hard learning to master that weapon. Even now, he was still in the process of building the strength to throw it long distances let alone add wind chakra to its edges. It was mostly used as a shield when he used it in actual battle, though his progression with it was steady.

The boys stopped by their apartment for a moment to get cleaned up (they learned the hard way not to show up around Kagome looking like they just got the shit kicked out of them) and then headed over to Inuyasha's home.

"Right," Inuyasha said upon their arrival, "remember what we worked on last time? Directing wind from a distance?"

"Yep!" Naruto replied enthusiastically following his elder sensei outside while Harry dropped onto a couch to watch TV; he knew this would most likely take a few hours.

Naruto had recently been inventing ways to control the wind around him and not just from chakra points in his body or molding chakra into weapons. It was extremely difficult and called for much meditation beforehand. The reason for this, as Inuyasha explained it once, was that this method was utilized by the ancient elementals—wizard-like individuals who were attuned to nature and were granted powers pertaining to certain elements of the Earth. It was basically a 'become one with nature' philosophy and required complete detachment from the material world.

Naruto sat against the roots of a tree near the edge of the state forest, his legs crossed, and body strait but relaxed, letting his mind reach out to all that surrounded him and allowing his senses to embrace every aspect of his preferred element. His ears caught every blade of grass and every leaf that was moved by the wind, his skin could feel the very degree of temperature that would drop and rise with each gust, his nose could pick up the scents that were carried with the traveling air—the exhaust of cars and the sweat of people from the more urban part of Salem to the north.

"You've got a knack for this meditating thing, I ever tell you that pup?" Naruto could see Inuyasha's turquoise aura bobbing a bit to his far left in his mind's eye. He didn't respond, keeping his heartbeat low and breath steady. Inuyasha would often talk to him, saying that Naruto needed to be able to manage to stay in the state of unity-consciousness, the seventh and final stage of meditation, with distractions around him so that one day he would be able to reach it in seconds, not having to go through the entire mediating process as he was now.

"You know my brother could probably give you a few tips. He's a meditating fiend..."

That extracted a shudder out of the teen. He remembered quite clearly when he first met Inuyasha's brother Sesshomaru, a full-blooded demon. The demon lord arrived at the request of Inuyasha to deliver Hiraikotsu—something he had acquired from the feudal era of Japan and kept in his possession along with quite a collection of other memorable weapons and artifacts. Naruto was certain that he didn't make much of an impression on the man. All he could manage was an "uh..." as he was stared down by the cold, imposing figure. It didn't help matters when Inuyasha kicked Sesshomaru the leg and told him to "loosen the fuck up", making the demon seemed absolutely frigid—something Inuyasha didn't seemed concerned about at all. Then again, as far as he could tell nothing really concerned Inuyasha—if anything ever went wrong for him he was usually and conveniently in his own little world.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes twenty minutes later, feeling completely refreshed, relaxed, and in tune with all his surroundings.

"Okay," he said quietly so not to disrupt his state of being, "I'm ready."

He started with the basics, increasing and decreasing the intensity of the wind flow, not affecting it in any other way. He was becoming quite proficient in this and on his good days, such as today as he would soon learn, he would be able to turn a light autumn breeze into gale worthy of kite-flying.

Yes, he felt quite confident that he would make significant progress this session.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Harry sighed and clicked off the TV, dropping the remote onto the glass coffee table with a loud clatter. He shifted to his back and stretched across the length of the couch, arching and yawning much like a cat would before settling comfortably on his side.

"So bored...," he moaned. He could watch only so many re-runs of Flavor of Love before he decided on starting a harem of his own. That would **not** bode well with Bridget. It was bad enough the kind of fits she would throw when he had one girlfriend...

He frowned to himself. He really needed so stop worrying so much of what Bridget would think. She was nearly ten years younger than him—though that age difference was completely insignificant in terms of demonhood. But still, there was no reason he should even be encouraging her advances on him. Hell, she would be more suitable for Naruto!

On second thought, that idea did not appeal to him _at all_ for reasons he could not and would not even begin to fathom. As it were they only appeared to be a few years apart. He took guardianship of the gate when he was nineteen and thus stopped his aging until he relinquished the gate to another...or was killed. So...

'_Okay, I'm getting off this subject right now!'_

...in a couple more years they would look nearly the same age...

'_Stop brain, stop!'_

The garage door slammed shut in the kitchen behind him and he jumped into a sitting position. That couldn't be Bridget...she was still in school...

His nose twitched a bit, recognizing the scent instantly and he grinned. It was about damn time she showed up.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Ugg! I don't get it! Why can't I control it?" Naruto moaned, two hours later. He had been trying fruitlessly to make the nor'easter winds perform a Uey around his body and then head back northbound. He had been gauging his performance on the direction of the dog-fashioned cupola atop Inuyasha's garage and so far the most he'd managed was a slight pressure against his back before the wind went back in its natural direction. The bronze head of the dog figurine stubbornly remained facing northeast.

"Because...you're trying to control it."

"...?!?!"

"Elements aren't meant to be controlled..." Inuyasha explained patiently to is quite impatient student, "especially the wind. That's what all the meditating is for; to connect your chakra to the element. You can't be so arrogant as to think that you can control an element of nature. Oh, no. You're just a product of this Earth. The best you can do is ask for its compliance...and I use that word loosely."

Naruto heaved a sigh, dropping back onto his butt and pulled himself quite quickly into a meditative state. This time, instead of just bringing himself to awareness of everything around him he tried to integrate his own being into nature. When he meditated he had always kept himself separate; trying to stay outside of the box so that he could 'see' all that was around him. He had thought that this was the way to gain control of elements, but apparently it not to be.

It was gradual, and he hadn't noticed exactly when it began or when it ended, but after some indefinite amount of time he was no longer aware of anything around him and yet, at the same time, everything. It felt like his chakra canals were being...blanketed was the best word he could think of. It may have been all along that this was happening and he was simply blocking it out, but for the first time he suddenly _felt_ rather than sensed the full weight of what was around him. There was this suffocating but soothing power pulsing in every which way like a heavy quilt protecting his life force. Was this nature? He didn't know what to call it, but it was humbling to say the least. He was insignificant and completely at its mercy. But he was safe.

A sudden creaking broke loose, so loud compared to the silence that hung deep within his mind that it startled him strait out of his meditation. The strange blanketing power sapped from him in an instant as his vision took over, leaving him oddly cold.

"Pup...what did you just do?" Inuyasha's hushed voice reminded him that he was not alone and he couldn't believe he had forgotten the man was there, standing only feet away.

"Huh?"

Naruto was slow to process that question. He didn't think he had done anything wrong...in fact, it felt like he was getting it right. There was a warm feeling within him when he surrendered himself to what he could only assume was the essence of nature.

He turned his head up to see Inuyasha staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"Never mind," the dog hanyou said, shaking his head and slowly beginning his trek back into the house. "Let's go. We're done for today."

Naruto stayed seated for a bit watching the shoulders of Inuyasha's broad back sway as the distance between them grew. He still felt a bit distorted from both the recent sensation he experience and the peculiar behavior of the normally relaxed man. He couldn't recall anyone ever looking at him like that before: completely weirded out. He'd had people look at him in fear, disgust, hate, annoyance, confusion, anger...but never with incredulity. Never with such convolution.

The persistent creaking that originally broke his strange and wonderful state of meditation drew his attention to the roof of Inuyasha's garage, where the cupola continued to spin.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Yay! I update before May! And I rhyme!

Okay, just to clear things up once and for all: this is a NARUSAKU. :3

—My feelings about Hinata are mixed. On one hand her handicapping insecurities annoy me and I know that any relationship between her and Naruto would never work—she's way too submissive. However, I feel she had a lot of potential—she could be strong and she has a lot of grace; if she could get rid of the shyness and just settle for being a quiet individual I think I would like her a lot more. And it seems to me that's how she's developing in the manga (even though we haven't seen much of her since the timeskip, so I could be proven wrong)

—No, I haven't forgotten about the seal. That will come up later. So will the Occlumency/legilimency training (where our young blonde friend learns more about Inuyasha), and the blood magic and other weapons and yadda yadda yadda. Basically there's training up the wazoo for the next few chapters. And I haven't forgotten about the Akatsuki either!

Oh, I've been informed that some people might not know what a Uey is. It's a U-turn. You know, that change of direction you only need to pull off in areas where they're illegal. Also a cupola is this little arrow thing on the roof of a barn, etc. that tells the direction of the wind.

Now that that's all settled...I love you all :) :) :) click that button and tell me what you think!


	11. A Disappointed Sex Icon

**Chapter 11**

Naruto entered the house via the sliding door off the back porch, the exhaustion from his elemental training finally setting in as he dragged his feet across the hardwood floor. He was really looking forward to taking a shower back at their apartment or, as Harry sometimes liked to call it, the 'bachelor pad' (though he really didn't think that term should apply to Harry—coughwhippedcough). His feet stopped short on their own accord as he reached the kitchen where three faces—two he was familiar with, the other totally new—greeted him.

A young, petite woman with a trendy blonde bob stood between Harry and Inuyasha, hardly standing pass their shoulders and dressed in some sort of chic witches' robe that was slightly more stylish compared to some of the ones Bridget wore to school. He noticed her eyes were the same amber as Bridget's and Inuyasha's so it didn't take much to figure out that this was Bridget's older sister—the reporter from Boston. Naruto assumed that she must have taken after her mother because the eyes were the only similarity he could match with Inuyasha.

"Is this the ninja?" she asked with a quirk of her lips, her manicured hand resting on her hip.

Naruto's countenance immediately settled to irritation; he was never going to be rid of that title in this world, was he?

"We call him Naruto these days," Inuyasha responded cheerily, receiving three dry looks in return.

"Give me some credit. I know who he is," she said rolling her eye and reached her arm across the counter in Naruto's direction. "I'm Alaina; sorry I haven't gotten to meet you before now, I was caught up with work."

Naruto accepted the delicate, French-tipped hand, "It's alright...they've kept me entertained."

Alaina grinned wider, suddenly looking much more like her father as her expression turned playful, "You're much cuter than the rumors say. Too bad you're so young..."

Naruto blushed a bit at her insinuations and stammered out, "What rumors?"

She looked a bit shocked and sent inquiring looks to both her father and Harry, the latter looking a bit sheepish.

"Like he said, we've kept him entertained. He doesn't have time to read all that crap the magazines and news papers spew out."

"What crap? What?" Naruto asked, sending each person in the room bewildered and demanding looks.

"You've been spotted loads of times with these two—mostly Harry though—and the public has been drawing its own conclusions," Alaina answered for him.

"Don't worry, nothing's been confirmed yet," Harry said to Naruto, who seemed a bit apprehensive about the whole situation. Honestly he didn't see what was wrong with a little attention, but the way Harry spoke about the press made it seem like publicly announcing the apprenticeship would eventually lead to his untimely death. Or perhaps Harry was just being dramatic...again.

The journalist within Alaina reared its head and she was in front of Harry in seconds. "Confirmed? Is there something to be confirmed?" She'd had her suspicions of course—it was just too much of a coincidence—but surely her father would have said something to her...

The silence that greeted her along with the unsure glances passing over her head coupled with her reporter instincts was more than enough for an answer.

"What a minute!" Alaina cried out louder than she intended, causing all three demonic beings to wince horribly, "a-are you saying it's true? He really is your apprentice?"

Another round of awkward silence left the blonde female turning on her only living parent, half furious, half excited.

"DAD!"

"What?" Inuyasha asked in an innocent voice, though his ears laying flat against his skull contradicted any such virtue. Alaina scowled and childishly stomped her foot.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew what the following conversation would be."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said, now sounding a bit flustered, "All I want is a little editorial."

"No," Inuyasha responded immediately, "We're trying to last as long as possible without having to deal with any notoriety; we don't want anything interference with his training."

"Oh, please? It will be the best story! Do you have any idea what this would do for my career?" Her voice took on a whining sound and Inuyasha looking mildly annoyed with his third youngest child.

"Now you're sounding as shallow as your mother was."

Naruto caught the 'was' and briefly wondered what had happened to the woman. He had never asked before who Bridget's mother was or what the circumstances of her absence were. If the woman were dead then it was probably best he didn't bring such a subject up anyway.

"Dad!" Alaina gasped at his abruptness, affronted but recovering quickly, "Come on! Just think about it. You know it's going to leak sooner or later, people are already talking. He has been seen before with Harry, out on the streets and a couple times fighting demons around public places. Just let me confirm the rumor before someone else gets it."

"Alaina, this is more important than just someone's reluctance to fame; he needs to save his world. This isn't some career opportunity for you or him—people's _lives_ are at stake here," Harry tried explaining, though the woman didn't seem to want to hear it.

"You two are being absolutely ridiculous," she griped, crossing her arms, "This isn't going to endanger anyone. The people's curiosity is peaked; if something isn't printed soon you'll have more than just paparazzi and reporters trying to catch a glimpse. Even the neighbors will have their binoculars out. Everyone's looking for a juicy piece of gossip, you have no idea how bad it will get if they're left to their own devices."

"Now that was a semi-decent argument," Inuyasha commented off handedly and Alaina made a noise not unlike an angry cat in the back of her throat.

"I'm telling you, just let me make it official to the public and while doing so and I'll make it clear that you want him left alone. Even the most persistent reporter wouldn't try and cross you daddy."

The attempt at soft-soaping—true as it was—left no impact on the hanyou's decision. It seemed that there would be no editorial announcing the apprenticeship to the two most notorious demon hunters to date, until the fourth vote emerged.

"I don't mind." Naruto's voice sounded quiet next to Alaina's previous yowling; so quiet, in fact, that Harry actually did a double take and an experimental sniff to the neck just to make sure it was him.

"What?" Naruto asked as he was met with the incredulous stares of his senseis, "It can't be that bad, can it? I mean...its mostly positive attention, right?"

"Ooooh...little man, you have no idea," Harry said piteously, ruffling the blonde's spiky tresses. Next to him, Inuyasha was shaking his head and heaved a resigned sigh.

"I guess it can't be helped. It _is_ his decision after all—"

"YES!" Alaina crowed, already in the process of whipping out a quill and notepad, "No wonder they like you so much!" She pulled Naruto away from Harry and planted a heavy kiss on his cheek in gratitude. The softness of her lips and the slight moisture they left behind on his sensitive whiskers left a pleasant tingling. But before he even had time to blush she had already hauled him into a chair from the kitchen table and seated herself right across from him.

"You two sit down too," she commanded her father and his original protégé, "I'm going to need all three of you for this if we're going to do this right. The more we satisfy the public the less you'll have to worry about them disturbing you for more information."

No less than two hours and forty minutes of questioning later had Naruto taking back everything he initially thought about giving interviews. They were _not_ cool. The questions seemed to never end, and most of what she asked seemed so irrelevant to the apprenticeship that he had to wonder if there was some ulterior motive behind the article. Why the hell would she need to know what his favorite ice cream topping was anyway? And the way she had asked him—giggling and coy—gave him the impression that it had nothing to do with ice cream.

"Well, I think that's about it," Alaina concluded in her way of dismissing them, "I'll have it all typed up by tomorrow and it should be well circulated within the next few days. This is going to be so cool! Oh...I can just feel that promotion already!"

"I thought you were just recently promoted to investigative reporter?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. He stood from his seat and twisted his torso with a satisfying pop out of his spine.

"Well at least a raise then...," she muttered, pouting at Harry's attempt to rain on her parade. Though she didn't resemble Inuyasha in many ways, Naruto found she had the same silly, blasé attitude the hanyou liked to display. She was clearly an outspoken woman who liked fashion and opulence but not to the point of being superficial, keeping herself well-kept but good humored. Naruto felt a light tug on his arm and he allowed himself to be pulled away from the table by Harry.

"Let's leave them to it," he explained with a nod over his shoulder. Naruto looked over to see Inuyasha speaking to Alaina with a much warmer expression on his face—that of a father wanting to catch up with his independent daughter who grew up too fast to his liking.

"This is the only time I'll ever have to do that right?" Naruto whispered so not to offend the woman who was still within earshot.

"If you're lucky," Harry scoffed, clearly knowing otherwise from experience. He exited the kitchen with Naruto in tow. "The general public may respect Inuyasha to the point of obeying his wishes, but you and I will be another story. Despite all that I've done in my lifetime, the majorities of those in power still see me as just a kid and refuse to take me seriously. It will probably go the same for you too, seeing as you're younger than I am."

"But if I'm famous like you guys, then people in this world will acknowledge my strength and power, right?" Sure it was no Hokage, but already he was getting more respect here than he ever did in Konoha. Once that article was printed, the entire world would know that he was strong enough to be selected as the apprentice of both Harry Potter and Inuyasha. That had to count for something.

"Well...," Harry suddenly looked bashful and ran a hand through his hair as he was often apt to do, "Don't get me wrong—demon hunting is wicked cool and the people of this world think so too—but their not so much interested in our talents per say...it's...it's more of the idea of...me and Inuyasha, we're more...especially with girls...and you'll be...er..."

Now he wasn't making any sense at all to Naruto and all the uncharacteristic stammering and hesitation was getting on his nerves, "Just what are you saying? Spit it out already."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed, "Alright. You'll be seen as more of a...a sex icon."

Back in the kitchen, Alaina was shuffling the seventy-odd papers of her latest scoop and neatly placing them in a manila folder to keep from getting damaged. She then added a few spells to the package with her cottonwood wand: anti-tearing spell, water-repellant, notice-me-not...she couldn't be too careful; after all, the contents of the folder were worth more than gold.

"_WHAT?!_"

The out burst from the next room over nearly made her slip up the anti-flammable spell she was currently casting. Thankfully she caught herself before she actually set her notes on fire.

"Was that Naruto?" she asked, staring at the door separating them from the two boys.

"Mmm," Inuyasha swallowed the sip of water he just took from the glass he held, "Harry told him the consequences of being grouped in with the famous demon-hunters."

"Ah."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Naruto was sure he had heard wrong. He was meant to be powerful and skillful; a shinobi and demon hunter worthy of respect. Not someone to be leered at! Not to mention he didn't think he was much to look at in the first place. Growing up with only words such as 'freak', 'monster' and 'demon' used to describe him left him with the impression that he was unattractive. However, his recent trip around the shinobi world with Jiraiya contradicted such beliefs with the advances made on him by both sexes—leaving him bewildered and confused in most of those situations. At the present moment he had mixed feelings about where he stood on the attractive scale. But sex icon? Even he knew that was pushing it.

"So what does this mean?" he asked Harry, "What do I do?"

Harry and Inuyasha must have been used to being 'sex icons' since the two of them had been world known demon hunters for years.

"Nothing," Harry replied with a shrug, "You just have to hunt demons and look good doing it."

"But...I thought I always looked good?" that's was Bridget—and sometimes Inuyasha—told him anyway when they supervised his training.

"That's the spirit," Harry said, walking past him and darting up the stairs, "come on."

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked, taking the stairs two at a time to catch up. In the back of his mind the thought it was a poor attempt at changing the subject.

"You wanted to see the book, didn't you?"

Naruto paused on the second to top step. The book—the only document of any and all forms of the forbidden art of blood magic. The only two beings alive thus far with the ability to successfully control the skill without succumbing to its darkness or being destroyed by its intensity were his very own masters. And he was supposed to be another one of 'them' according to Inuyasha; a perfect mixture of light and darkness. He had watched in awe as both Harry and Inuyasha used blood—both their own and others—to administer attacks and create spectacles of magnificence, to destroy the most fearsome of demons gruesomely but efficiently.

"Oi, move it!"

Naruto snapped out of it, excitement flooding him and powering his legs to run into Inuyasha and Kagome's bedroom where Harry was, the book already in his hand. It was a tome of sorts; a heavy leather cover swathed the thick stack of fawn leafs. Burnt runes decorated its face along with hundreds of tiny ivory chips. Despite its aged appearance, the book seemed to exude an aura of its own, one of fearsome glory.

"Oh wow," Naruto whispered and reached forwards to touch the masterpiece. Harry smiled at Naruto's appreciation for its reverence and motioned for the boy to sit down on the ground with him. The two settled on the grey carpet and Naruto proceeded to trace the shards of ivory embedded in the leather. The cool, milky debris seemed to hum underneath his fingertips. "What are these?"

Harry peered at Naruto unsteadily over the wire frames of his glasses.

"You—you can see these?"

The disbelief in his voice had Naruto breaking his touch from the book and meeting the wizard's emerald eyes.

"Yeah...so can you, right? What's the big deal?"

Instead of answering, Harry took on a thoughtful look and began to speak speculatively, "Well I suppose that makes sense...after all, they can't be seen by humans but can't be touched by demons...only a hanyou or something of similar design would be able to see them so I guess you'd qualify. You have heard of Tetsuiga before right?"

"Yep," Naruto answered, "its Inuyasha's old sword that was made out of his father's fang, and it can only be wielded by a half-demon with the desire to protect...or something like that..."

Harry nodded, "Pretty much. When he first received the book at least four hundred years before I was born he had to find a way to help its defense against being stolen by demons. So, he shattered the sword and embedded the shards inside the cover—which basically prevented all demons from being about to touch it because of the barrier on the sword."

"Cool...so can I learn blood magic now?" Naruto's innocent and eager expression made Harry smile once again. Sometimes the boy could make himself look years younger with his boyish attitude—a misleading but useful trait.

"Why the hell do you think I brought you up here? First thing you need to do is put a drop of your blood on the cover. Otherwise it won't open for you. It's sort of what binds you to the book so it allows you to read it."

Naruto nodded and pricked the pad of his index finger deeply using the increasingly sharpening nail of his thumb. The blood beaded on the appendage as he held it over the book and waited for gravity to take its course. In that brief suspension Harry was brought back to the first time he opened the book. He remembered the surge of power that rushed through him the very second his blood hit the text; he remembered watching as the blood was soaked in greedily by the leather cover and falling back as the book flew open of its own accord, accepting him and revealing to him all its secrets.

It was with an almost satirical bafflement that he watched Naruto's blood hit the surface of the book and—instead of being absorbed and opening as he expected—it let out a hiss, the blood smoking and sizzling on the cover until it evaporated.

Naruto sat fascinated, watching as the rising smoke dissipated into the air and then looked at Harry for answers.

"Was that supposed to happen?"

Harry slowly shook his head, still staring at the book. This didn't make any sense. He was a parallel soul to he and Inuyasha—the book had no reason to reject him! He was a human soul with a dark core, right? The Kyuubi should have made sure of that, especially with the seal steadily deteriorating and intermingling more of the demon within his very blood.

"I don't believe it...It—it's not accepting you."

"What? No way!" Naruto refused to believe such a statement after looking forward to this moment for so long and grabbed the book from the ground, fruitlessly trying to pry it open against the wild magic that kept it masked from him, "ugh—open, damn you—!"

The book hissed and snapped, zapping red energy at his hands in an offensive manner Harry never knew the book had. It didn't even want Naruto to touch it...

"Naruto," Harry said, gently taking the book from the offended boy, "...I don't think you can use blood magic."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

It had taken many chakra-consuming earth-jutsu to rebuild the cavern that originally covered the Akatsuki hideout. While the walls and ceiling were near identical to what they once were, the ground was no longer the stone floor it had been, but now a permanent and blackened granite courtesy of the forced opening to Hell that once took place there. In the aftermath of the Kyuubi incident, all that was left was a razed field of rubble stretching as far as a mile in diameter, and the statue that contained their collected demons—curiously unscathed for the most part. It wasn't until later that it was discovered that the combined chakra of the six captivate beasts left the container with somewhat of a protected barrier, much to the Akatsuki's fortune.

The leader of the Akatsuki stood before the statue that held his dearest dreams, his entire body shadowed by the giant raised hands he stood beneath. His stare grazed over the eight closed eyes, demonstrating the statue's inactivity. They had accomplished so much and yet, he knew behind those stone lids were two pupil-less eyes, a mockery and reminder of what he still needed to achieve. These last two demons were proving quite difficult to locate—it would seem their hunt for the bijuu was not as tapered as they would have liked and the bijuu were putting an effort into avoiding detection. He brought his attention to the ninth, center eye. This eye was fixed open, the lids peeled back to reveal a blank, peppery orb with a deep and jagged crack penetrating strait down the middle. He often took the time to admire that one, lone, significant flaw.

He would never forget that day because it was all those months ago, looking square into those malicious red eyes of the Kyuubi, that he felt something akin to fear for the first time in years. He could admit that he had never witnessed something quite like that. The power of the greatest bijuu just inches away from his body, the resolve of that beaten jinchuuriki, the brief glimpse into Hell...

"Such a pity," he murmured despondently as his grey, swirling eyes bored into the fissure of the eye, "all that beautiful power...gone..."

He sensed the arrival of his subordinates that he had recently summoned, both in projection and in body.

"I trust at least one of you has made progress in locating one of the remaining two bijuu," he said once he sensed all six of the remaining members of their organization had appeared, not turning around.

There were several, furtive glances passed around behind the man's back, each one sending a silent message to the next, hoping that their neighbor had something to say—anything to say—that would not bring disappointment to their leader.

"Sir," Zetsu began, "there has been word of disturbing weather phenomenon in the northern areas of the land of lightening. We have reason to believe an unsealed bijuu is behind it."

The leader was silent for a moment before: "Very well, I suppose that will suffice for now. Zetsu, you will explore that region along with Tobi and Deidara. I expect to find positive results. The rest of you will continue searching for the other bijuu."

Zetsu made a face, shooting a disapproving look at, in his opinion, the two most annoying members of their group that he would now be forced to work with.

"I heard your brother is back in the Uchiha district," Kisame said conversationally to his partner as the group began to separate, "You think he's planning on restarting your clan?"

They had barely given Konoha a second thought since it no longer possessed the jinchuuriki they desired, so any news they received about it had long since been distributed. Despite whatever the Akatsuki was doing, Itachi had made it a habit of keeping up with the news in Konoha through his own sources, even after his brother defected and Naruto had left on his training trip. However, it was after the recent sealing fiasco that he appeared to have lost any interest, despite his brother's return.

The oldest Uchiha sent a chilling look to the fish-like man.

"I don't care what my brother is doing, he is only a disappointment. If he chooses to revive the clan in Konoha then so be it; I have long since given up on the expectation that he would one day kill me. Yet," Itachi continued, "There have also been rumors that Naruto-kun has survived..."

Every missing-nin started at the hearsay, the leader fixed his unnatural eyes upon the young man.

"That jinchuuriki?" the blue haired member queried, "Preposterous! That kid was torn apart!"

"There's no way," Deidara argued. "Not even we could get near that chakra, and he was right in the middle of it."

"Tobi is a good boy!"

"I have a feeling," the leader began, and his voice, quiet as it was, managed to silence all the others, "that was a boy we should not have underestimated. To expect the unexpected from him would be in our best interest—alive or not."

He began to pace around the gathered men, his slow and steady steps did nothing to betray the whirlwind of possibilities racing through his mind.

"In the highly unlikely event that he survived and we meet him one day again we will deal with him accordingly. We should have the remaining bijuu under our command soon enough. Even the Kyuubi jinchuuriki will be no match for us then. For now, we proceed with the plan. Dismissed."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

When Bridget arrived home from school, Harry sent her and a moody Naruto outside to get in some driving hours while convincing Alaina to supervise their driving. Once they were out of the house he pulled a bewildered Inuyasha into the study and shoved their beloved book into his arms as he began to rant about the latest events.

"—and then when he tried to force it open it actually attacked him!"

Inuyasha blinked after hearing Harry recount what had just happened upstairs.

"You're telling me," he pointed to himself, "that Naruto," he pointed outside, "can't even open the book," he waved the weighty text gripped in his clawed hand, "let alone use blood magic?!"

"Yeah, that's what I'm telling you..."

"That—that—no...That's not how it works."

Harry could count the number of times he had seen Inuyasha completely at a loss on one hand...while missing three fingers. This was one of those times.

"You said he could see the Tetsuiga pieces?"

"Yes."

"And he could touch the book."

"Technically he was just touching the Tetsuiga at the time, I believe."

"Right, but when his blood touched the book it fizzed out instead of being absorbed...and then the book backlashes at him when he tries to pry it open?"

"Yeah."

"He's a parallel soul to us," Inuyasha argued to himself, his voice gaining conviction, "his life, his choices...yes, it all connects; he belongs here with us, but...how could he not have the ability to use blood magic? That's what we do, that's what makes us who we are."

"Maybe you were wrong—" Harry suggested, though he didn't like the thought that Naruto wasn't one of the ordained, he had grown really attached to the kid.

"I wasn't wrong," Inuyasha snapped before sending Harry a quick, apologetic look. Not knowing things tended to make him aggravated. "There has to be some...some logical explanation."

"I'm beginning to think logic has nothing to do with the kit," Harry pointed out sagely.

Inuyasha was still reeling from Naruto's rejection from the book, "He should be able to use blood magic...but for some inexplicable reason he can't. As a human his soul was light but having his core exposed to an evil such as the Kyuubi's chakra since birth should have turned the core of his soul dark. A being with a light soul and a dark core—those are the only requirements to successfully use blood magic."

"Like me?" Harry asked, "Like how Voldemort's curse turned my core dark?"

Inuyasha nodded, gently placing the book on his desktop and began a steady pace around the perimeter of the room.

"Yes, exactly. I don't know how...but his core must have remained light—it's the only possible explanation. I mean, why else would the book refuse him? Throughout everything, it's _still_ light. But, the Kyuubi's chakra, the breaking seal...there's no way that his core can't be dark...damnit, I can't figure out why!"

Inuyasha looked genuinely upset which, in turn, upset Harry because Inuyasha's stability had always been a constant for him; no matter how weird, messed up, or terrible things got, Inuyasha was always reliable to be at ease—letting him know that everything would be alright.

"Maybe it was just a fluke? I mean, he was just meditating a lot and connecting himself to nature or whatever that shit you guys do. Maybe he was on some kind of nature-high and was sending mixed signals to it and...yeah...that made no sense. Sorry," Harry apologized for the lame conclusion he tried to draw up.

Inuyasha shook his head, waving off the apology and trying to piece everything together in his mind, "You didn't see it. There's some variable I'm missing here. God, this is frustrating."

"What didn't I see?"

Inuyasha pursed his lips and glanced out the window. The setting sun cast an orange glow about the immaculate lawns of the suburban street; the grass still shined a healthy green despite the cooling weather of autumn. He could hear the light breeze through the thin glass of the window. It was heading in the same direction as it was before Naruto began his elemental training that afternoon.

"I never got to tell you this since Alaina arrived...when he was meditating he...I don't really know how to describe it...all I did was tell him to surrender himself to the wind instead of trying to control it and the next thing I know I've got hundreds of mini cyclones in my yard. The second he opened his eyes everything stopped."

"Well..." Harry began, at a loss once more, "his element is the wind, right? Maybe he's finally getting the hang of things?"

"Harry, it wasn't just the wind...it was the ground...I swear the earth sifted right under us, but it looked like nothing moved. It wasn't natural...but at the same time it was. Damnit, I don't know how to explain it."

The hanyou fell back into the wheeled office chair behind his knees with a huff. His head hurt, he hadn't been challenged by a puzzle like this in centuries.

"This kid will be the death of me, I swear..."

Harry smiled halfheartedly and scratched the base of his superior's left ear, the soft fur feeling just as pleasant as it had the first time he touch the fuzzy appendages.

"Hey, at least it will be a fun death, right?"

Inuyasha snorted and his own smile began to develop, "Yeah. He is cute. It's not like I'm mad at him for this or anything."

There was a brief moment of silence before Harry asked: "So what do we do now?"

Inuyasha glanced outside the window once more, the trees behind his neighbor's yard tilted as the wind pressured them southward.

"Well, we start by trying to figure out the enigma that is Naruto."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Roar, finals start Friday :( Someone save me from this madness. Hopefully I won't update too late next week assuming all the studying doesn't drive me into a coma.

Oh noes! Naruto can't use the blood magic! There is a reason (of course), which won't be revealed until much later (again, of course). Now we know that the Akatsuki is still alive and kickin and we'll see more of Konoha later. And more crazy training for Naruto as Inuyasha tries to figure out what is wrong with him.

On the bright side: Naruto is a sex icon! Yay.

Thanks for all the encouragement! I'm glad so many people are enjoying this as much as I am.


	12. Confirmation

**Chapter 12**

Pale, slender fingers ran their way through pink tresses several times, often ending at the camber of lean shoulders, before Sakura felt satisfied with her appearance. She stood before her mirror, fawn skirt and red vest tighter against her body from her continuing growth, emphasizing her curves. She focused on the mirror image of her chest for a moment, pleased that she appeared to finally be making some progress in that department. She knew at sixteen she wasn't done growing yet, and figured she could at least manage a B cup out of the pair of A's she had now. Looking over herself once more she gave her reflection a playful, approving wink and dashed out her bedroom and down the stairs. She grabbed a jacket her mother recently dug up from storage as she ran past both her parents and flew out the door—she was already late. While fire country rarely got snow, the winters became quite cold and with her exit she was met with a slap in the face of frosty air.

It took her no more than four minutes to race her way to Yamanaka Ino's residence, where the Konoha eleven's periodic gathering was taking place this time. Though they couldn't really be called the Konoha eleven any more, could they? Temari had joined in quite a few of the get-togethers courtesy of Shikamaru and had slowly integrated her way into their little group of friends over time. Of course this spurred Ino to lug Sai along to all of them too; she had been trying her best to get more of a reaction out of him than just "miss lovely". And while Naruto had been gone for nearly three years, attending only one of their few gatherings before he disappeared once more, Sasuke was now slowly rejoining their group. Tonight would actually be the first one he'd gone to a gathering willingly, not counting the two times before when Sakura had to drag him along. He had promised to meet her there this time and she was hell bent on making sure he followed through.

"Hey forehead! What took you so long?" Ino called upon seeing the medic-nin waltz in through her front door. Sakura didn't answer her right away, instead taking the time to shed her coat and relish in the warm heat and friendly activity that greeted her. It looked like everyone was already there snacking on refreshments and laughing in their own private groups.

"Shut up, pig. You know a girl has to arrive fashionably late for an appropriate entrance."

"Please," Ino snorted, flicking her long blonde hair—now loose from its usual tie—over her shoulder, "you passed fashionable ten minutes ago."

"Yeah, yeah. Say, have you seen Sasuke?"

Ino threw her an unreadable look before jerking her head towards a circle of chairs in the back, most of which were occupied, "he's over there talking to Neji."

Sure enough, she could make out the two dark-haired heartthrobs conversing in low voices across the room.

"I didn't think those two talked...ever..."

In the brief yet unspeakable time when Naruto was believed to be dead, Neji was one of the ones who took it particularly hard and felt no qualms in putting as much blame in Sasuke as necessary.

"You're spending an awful lot of time with Sasuke-kun..." Ino said suddenly as she eyed the pink-head shrewdly. Sakura couldn't really blame her pushy friend for drawing the obvious conclusion; she _had_ been spending a rather large amount of time with Sasuke as of late.

Sakura had given Sasuke one week to readjust to living in the Uchiha district after he had been released from Ibiki's loving care before she decided to visit him. At first he wouldn't even look her in the eye; his answers were short and clipped and he used any excuse to make her visits over as quickly as possible. Often times she had to force entry into his house when he wouldn't willingly invite her in, and drag him out of the house and around town just to do basic things like shop for groceries. Slowly her persistence paid off; using some psychology tactics she picked up from dealing with patients she got Sasuke to talk to her about all that was plaguing him. As she got to know him better his resolve to keep her out of his business slowly wore down.

Then the day came—a cloudless and mild afternoon—where he actually apologized to her. He apologized for his actions, for not being strong enough—both mentally and physically, for Naruto...everything that had been weighing down on his conscious broke free and it suddenly became clear to her that he was suffering from depression. He broke down that day, both to Sakura's immense shock and relief. He swore, he yelled, he punched a pretty hefty dent into the oak of a wall post...but he never cried. Like Naruto, crying was no longer an option for him. Something had changed between them that day; she suddenly understood him for the first time in her life. Before they were just teammates, then they were opponents, now they were genuine friends.

Since that day she had made it a point to visit Sasuke everyday, to try and cheer him up or get him to go out with her into the public. She even convinced the Hokage to start letting Sasuke begin his D-ranks and helped him when she could. She told him again and again that if he didn't start showing his face around he would never redeem himself to the people of Konoha or his friends. At the same time she found she had to convince the rest of their friends to lighten up on him. Many of them held grudges for various reasons, the foremost being what he put Naruto through (their loyalty to the boy was still at an all time high). Her efforts slowly paid off and Konoha was beginning to accept the Uchiha once again—his name pulling significant weight for his redemption as well—and the rookie nine were forgiving him one by one.

She had not gone through such lengths to settle the Uchiha because her old crush had resurfaced, nor did she do it for the sake of their slow building friendship. She simply did it for Naruto: nothing more, nothing less. Naruto had asked her not to give up on Sasuke, and she knew that the boys' friendship meant more to Naruto than she would ever understand, and she could respect that.

On the other hand, she did not want to have to compete with Sasuke for Naruto's attention when the blonde returned.

Her new train of thought caused Naruto's face to flash through her mind—not how she had last seen it, bleeding and twisted in pain—but as she liked to remember him: boyish countenance...mischievous, sparkling cerulean eyes that only looked at her with adoration...the roguish half-grin regularly broadcast across his face...wild golden hair...those whiskers...those delightful, defining, sensitive whiskers...

Her stomach gave a familiar lurch and her face flushed pink as she was brought back to her conversation.

"Don't even go there Ino," Sakura said, her feelings for the jinchuuriki suddenly reinforced tenfold, "You know that I love Naruto."

Even months after Sakura's original confession, Ino still could not wrap her mind around the idea of Sakura being in love with Uzumaki Naruto. She chalked it up to simply being habit. After all, it wasn't as if she thought Naruto was some kind of social calamity anymore. Quite the contrary—she now felt he was one of the most endearing guys Konoha had to offer. It was a pity Sakura had already called dibs on him...

"You love Naruto?" The voice was right behind them and it was shameful that neither had sensed the presence sneak up on them. Sakura paled as she turned around to meet the disbelieving eyes of Kiba.

"You love _Naruto_?" he repeated, this time louder. Sakura and Ino both 'shh'ed him and tackled his mouth with their hands. Thankfully the music playing in the background had kept everyone oblivious, to the girl's knowledge at any rate, and they dragged the fanged ninja to a secluded corner of the room.

"_You love Naruto_!" he hissed for the third time while jerking out of their grip.

"Yes!" Sakura snapped, "Yes, I love him!" and she realized that she enjoyed saying that out loud more and more. _'I love him, I love him, I love him.'_

"But-but you can't—," he protested somewhat desperately, looking distressed.

"Don't tell her who she can and can't love," Ino snapped, now channeling her queen bee personality with the same tone of voice she would use back in the academy when speaking to the 'losers'. Sakura too looked chagrined at Kiba's audacity.

"But Hinata—!"

It was with cutting enlightenment that it suddenly became clear to Sakura why Kiba seemed so upset with her. Of course this would be about Hinata: _the other girl_.

"What about Hinata?" Ino asked, oblivious to Sakura's stricken look.

"She's liked him for ages, that's what! Long before you ever did!" Kiba hissed at the rosette in respect of his teammate. "What's your deal anyway? You always treated him like shit."

Sakura visibly flinched at the harsh reminder.

"Hey—"

"It's alright Ino." Sakura cut of the blonde with a raise of her hand and looked Kiba square in the eye. It was time she justified herself, not only in her mind, but out loud as well, "I'll admit, I'm probably the least deserving of Naruto's feelings, and there is nothing that I regret more than how I acted in our genin days. But that was three years ago and I'm a different person now. So is Naruto for that matter; we both grew up. I know it doesn't seem fair to Hinata, yet after all this time she still hasn't done anything to garner his attention—even back when he needed it the most. So I'm sorry Kiba, but my sympathy for Hinata isn't going to change how I feel about Naruto. I love him," another pleasant feeling overtook her as she said that and she smiled a little, "And he," she took a breath and a gamble, "he loves me back. I'm sure of it."

Kiba scowled, still not pleased with the sudden turn of events. He cared a lot for Hinata and he knew this would hurt her—anyone could see that she stood no chance against Sakura when it came to that blonde idiot's heart and Hinata's greatest fear was that someday Sakura would return his feelings.

"Naruto's going to be gone for a while longer isn't he? They said he's on another training trip. He'll probably meet other girls anyway," even as he said it, Kiba knew it was a low blow. But his loyalty to his teammate demanded that he discourage any other girls from trying to divert Naruto's attention. Who knew, maybe Hinata would finally get the nerve to admit her feelings to Naruto when he got back?

Sakura bit her lip; this was possibility that she was fully aware of, "That won't stop me from loving him. I don't love Sasuke; I'm pretty sure now that I never did." She said this partly to Ino, who she often needed to remind of her feelings. "Look, Kiba, the truth is—," she had no idea why she was so reluctant for everyone to know about her and Naruto...if there even was a 'her and Naruto' to begin with. Perhaps that was the problem—Naruto had refused to let her admit her feelings to him and he had been very dodgy in defining his own. What if he had moved on? What if he had fallen out of love with her? What if he had assumed she had chosen Sasuke in his absence? Maybe she was just getting her hopes up after all. "Th-the truth is...before Naruto...left...me and Naruto, we—"

"Sakura-san! My beautiful flower of pink youth!"

At that moment Sakura wanted to both kill and kiss Lee simultaneously as the green-clad now-jounin swooped down upon the isolated group and grabbed her hand with both of his own. Her eyebrow began twitching sporadically.

"Lee...," she began, not really knowing what to say. She looked over at Ino and Kiba, the former of which happened to be looking at her as if she was insane. Then again, perhaps she was. She wanted to get it off her chest, her strange relationship with the jinchuuriki, if only to get other girls to back off of what was hers. But she couldn't just blurt out everything in the middle of a party as if she were bragging. Cripes, she almost just told Kiba of all people the extent of her and Naruto's relationship! What had she been thinking?

Before she could think anymore about her irrational actions she found herself being dragged by a chattering Lee over to where Sasuke and Neji were still conversion—though it appeared more as if they were arguing at this point.

Kiba blinked a few times, his face scrunching in confusion, "What the hell was that? What was going on with those two before?"

Ino spared the brunette a glance before making to follow Sakura, but not before leaving him with a few parting words, "Look Kiba, I may not know everything that was going on between them either but you might as well look at it this way: Naruto's spoken for."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Harry finished the final touches of the last symbols with a few more sweeps of his bleeding digits. An intricate, runic circle was now spread before him, his own blood lay cooling on the stone floor of the ninth gate's cavern—an ancient, daunting hall that lay deep below the soils of India. He rose to his feet, reached for a small flask resting at his side, one that was attached to a thick, loose belt he often wore when hunting, and took a long swig of the liquid within. The lightheadedness he had experienced the moment he stood faded as the blood-replenishing potion took affect.

"Alright, shirt off."

Naruto complied immediately by drawing the thin material over his head and throwing it off carelessly to the side. He was well aware of the procedure by now having done it every month for the last five months he had been there.

"Alright, pants off."

Harry and Naruto froze in their activities and gave the third member of their party unimpressed looks.

"What?" Inuyasha asked simply, "I wanted to see if he'd do it."

Harry rolled his eyes and made a gesture to the young jinchuuriki to get into position. Naruto tentatively walked into to the wide circle on the floor, cautious not to disturb any of the blood Harry spent so long on assigning, and lay down. The circle stretched just the length of his body, head to feet. He sucked in a breath as the cold floor came into contact with his bare back. He didn't even wait for Harry's signal and—without even having to lift his hands from his sides—molded enough chakra for the seal to become visible. A mess of black and red materialized around his belly button; the original spiral was a patch work of fading blood and a cracked double tetragram seal, the ciphers around the sides were nearly absent in their damaged state.

Harry lowered himself down by Naruto's side, resting on his knees once more. He brought his wrists quickly across the thin, arched razors he had attached to the hips of his belt for immediate access to his blood and let the blood run down his hands. He made a few strange hand gestures—not seals as Naruto was apt to use, but ones designed specifically for blood magic—and brought his dripping and now glowing fingers to the tanned abs before him. Naruto yelped.

"Oh shut up."

"Well _sorry_, your fingers are cold!"

Harry continued his work on reinforcing the dying seal under Inuyasha's supervision. It was a good system they had going; the blood seal supporting the Fourth's original needed maintenance regularly, but otherwise did a fine job in holding in the Kyuubi. Naruto hadn't even spoken to the Kyuubi since he dragged the beast to Hell nor did he use its power much. He had made sure to inform both Harry and Inuyasha that he refused to use any of the beast's tails since the time he had hurt his precious Sakura-chan because of loosing himself to the power. Surprisingly, Inuyasha seemed to understand exactly where he was coming from.

Inuyasha stood back and let his apprentice work, a small frown marring his unique features that went unnoticed by either of his pupils. Naruto hadn't detected it—hell, even Harry didn't—but Inuyasha had. Every time they refurbished the seal a little more blood was needed. Each time had to be stronger because the original seal continued to deteriorate even under the support of the blood seal. The day would come when the Fourth's seal would fail...and a blood seal, no matter how powerful the wild magic may be, would not be able to hold the Kyuubi captive. But such a thing was a long ways off, and he saw no reason to worry the boys with matters that were out of their control.

"All set!" Harry announced, standing and dusting off his knees. Naruto sat up as well and looked over his stomach. The blood of his companion was decorated around the spiral on his skin along with some new symbols that he didn't recognize. The once eerie glow began to fade along with the entirety of the seal and soon it was just a bronze tummy that exposed to the chilly, hollow air.

"Thanks."

Harry smiled as Naruto searched for his shirt that he had thrown off. The boy hadn't handled the news of his inability to use blood magic very well and for the longest time Harry was reluctant to use the ability in front of him in fear of causing upset. He needn't have bothered; Naruto, while often brash and at times envious of others, was never a jealous person. He didn't covet what he couldn't have and would never think ill of someone for simply excelling at something he had no promise in. No, Naruto had to assure him again and again that Harry should never hold back his abilities on his account. After all, it wasn't as though Naruto was weak without the use of blood magic. He more than made up for it with the progress in his wind training; his control over the element grew steadily by the day, he always had a clone or two working on it while he meditated. However, he had yet to reach that rare state of being again, the one that held him completely at the mercy of some ethereal force but simultaneously gave him such a powerful sensation. He wasn't concerned; in the back of his mind he knew he would reach it again one day, he just needed to practice his ease at reaching deeper levels of mediation. He had also been getting the hang of Hiraikotsu as of late: just the other day he had taken out three airborne moth demons in a long winded arch and caught the weapon beautifully. Of course he was then caught off guard in the midst of his victory dance by a hidden, second-class demon.

Harry had to admit: Naruto handled the media much better than he had originally anticipated. At first it took a while for the boy to calm down, especially after seeing not only Alaina's article, but the ones in Bridget's Witch Weekly subscription which had such provocative speculations about him that he had been blushing for days on end (even now Bridget enjoyed shoving the more racier ones in his face from time to time just to get a reaction). He gradually got used to the overwhelming attention, learning to ignore the media for the most part by following his superiors' examples.

Unsurprisingly, the public had immediately taken a liking to the blonde. Not only because he brought such uproar about being the next great demon hunter but also because he was so young and held, not the dangerous and powerful impression Harry and Inuyasha gave off, but a bright and approachable character. While Harry was recognized for being somewhat of a badass and Inuyasha for being omnipotent, Naruto was loved for being so vivacious. Naruto had a certain allure with the press that Harry never had. In the few times that he had been caught off guard with a camera in his face or a reporter breathing down his neck he managed to always pull off a charming smile and a hand out few evasive answers before slipping away. Then again, Harry's initial experience with the press from his first few years in the wizarding world had left him with a bad reaction to such exposure. He spent most of his teens trying to divert as much attention from himself as possible by covering his scar with his hair or adding a slouch to his posture to blend in with the crowd or even avoiding public places all together.

Now, at twenty five and quite capable, Harry was no longer self-conscious about who he was. His long, wild bangs were brushed, to some extent, diagonally to the left, allowing his scar to be visible to anyone who took the time to look. To many he would appear that angry, violate teenager he was in his fifth year but with out the hormones with all the 'back off' stares he threw around. In public he was constantly in the quiet but deadly calm-before-the-storm mode that made any press member or crazed sycophant hesitant to say the wrong thing and therefore stay away all together. But anyone who truly knew him knew it was an act. Sure he would yell and pretend to respond violently to many things (i.e. Inuyasha's insanity) but it was all in good humor. He secretly just loved to cause a scene. As Bridget once pointed out (much to his horror, Naruto's confusion, and Inuyasha's amusement), they each represented a Powerpuff girl: Inuyasha was Blossom, Harry was Buttercup, and Naruto was Bubbles.

"Okay! Take us home, Tito!" Inuyasha ordered. Harry gave him an annoyed look but complied, grabbing onto Inuyasha and Naruto's arms and shadow-walking the three of them back to his apartment. Inuyasha cracked his neck and glanced at the shortest of the three.

"So how's the belly kiddo?"

Naruto grinned up at Inuyasha and patted his stomach, "hungry."

"Good answer," the hanyou smirked and looked at Harry, "Make us food, Tito!"

Thankfully, for Harry's blood pressure and Inuyasha's physical well being, a light beeping noise cut off the subsequent retort. Harry glanced at his beeper and smirked.

"Too bad, I gotta go. It's that province in Italy again, and you know how well they pay."

His body swirled into smoke, leaving Naruto pouting in the living room. He preferred it when Harry took him on his personal missions, even if it was just to observe the more talented hunter work. It was about two months ago that Harry officially let Naruto register at the Office of Demonic Liaison and Control Unit as a working demon hunter. He was given his own cell phone and beeper, assigned his own clients, and filled out his own reports to hand in to Diane (the secretary's name that Harry never bothered to ask for). To put it lightly, he made more money in two months than he did in half a year as a shinobi. It was becoming less of an occurrence that the boys hunted together, only when Naruto was assigned an upper second class demon or multiple demons that he was unsure about would Harry accompany him. But that put no strain on the growing bond between the boys; the rest of their time was always in each other's presence, whether it be training or causing mayhem.

"Fine then, we'll make our own food, won't we Naruto?" Inuyasha said while sounding miffed even though Harry wasn't there anymore. Naruto followed the bizarre half-demon into the tiny kitchen and allowed him to make a pot of ramen for the two of them. Despite his impression on the first day, he didn't get to eat ramen nearly as much as he was used to. This was due to the girls' self-appointed mission of forcing as much 'good food' in the boys as they could. Kagome especially would actually monitor what he ate most of the time, something he was completely unused to but didn't feel the need to fight her much on it anyhow.

"So," Inuyasha began, setting down a bowl of ramen in front of each of them, "how goes the windy fun?"

"Meh," Naruto answered, digging in, "It was alright, but now I'm trying to control the direction of Hiraikotsu while its airborne using the wind. Don't you think that would be cool? I mean, I could totally catch demons off guard when they dodge it only to have it follow them around!"

Inuyasha grinned as he pictured that, "Sounds like you'll need to have advanced influence over the wind from pretty long distances."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, fiddling some noodles on the prongs of his fork, "that's the problem. It's all slow going from here."

"Don't sweat it. You've already made significant progress so far and you've got at least another year and a half to go."

"Oh yeah...," the thought invoked mixed emotions. He liked it here a lot, people respected him—hell, people _adored_ him, which was a nice change. He was learning and accomplishing so much and he would be sorry to go but at the same time he missed his home. Not so much his home as the people...in fact he was beginning to feel more at home in this apartment than he ever did in that dingy rat-hole he used to live in. What concerned him the most was that he was beginning to forget—forgetting what people looked like or forgetting how they were important to him...

"Thinking about Konoha?" Inuyasha asked astutely.

"Oh, y-yeah." Naruto blushed for spacing out, "It hasn't even been that long, but I do miss them."

"I can understand that. You probably have a whole bunch of friends waiting for you; there were certainly plenty of people who seemed to care about you when I went there."

"I guess..." Naruto thought out loud, "some more than others."

Inuyasha quirked his lips, "Ah...that Sakura girl right? Yeah, she was cute."

A bit of broth went down the wrong pipe and Naruto choked, his face flushing red for two reasons while Inuyasha genially patted him on the back. He had made a conscious effort to not dwell on the thought of her. It hurt his heart; the last image he had of her was her screaming and crying and looking _so_ hurt, and it was all because of him. He always seemed to be hurting her in some way, whether he was a raging mini-Kyuubi or just saying stupid things that upset her; he wouldn't be surprised if she did jump back at the chance to be with the teme.

"If you two had babies, do you think they would get pink hair?"

The sudden question both shocked Naruto and discomfited him, "Inuyasha! What the hell? You don't ask people that!"

"It is kind of a weird hair color," The elder remarked before scooping more ramen into his mouth, "What if they were boys?

"What—I—no! We're not talking about this!"

"You'd better hope they were gay, I can't see any girl going for a pink-haired guy."

"Inuyasha!"

"What about Sasuke?"

"Inu—what?"

"Well, do you miss him too?"

"Of course I miss him," Naruto said as if the idea of _not_ missing your estranged teammate who tried to kill you no less than three times was absurd.

"Even though he abandoned you in favor of some false power and turned traitor to your village?"

Naruto blinked, not sure if he heard correctly. Why was Inuyasha fighting him on this?

"That wasn't all his doing. He was manipulated..."

"He gave in to these manipulations pretty easy don't you think?" Inuyasha countered, dropping the impassive look he often wore when speaking to people and now meeting his gaze directly, "That sannin only had to dangle a little bribe in front of him and the kid abandons everything he had going for him. You went through far worse and showed to be much more resilient."

Naruto glowered—he didn't like anyone insulting Sasuke but him.

"He's not me! What happened at the Uchiha massacre nearly broke him, don't you get that? He needs me, or at least someone, even if he doesn't know it. He may live the rest of his life hating me for dragging him back to Konoha but as long as he finds happiness then I don't care what he thinks about me."

"How's he going to be happy if he willingly left Konoha in the first place?"

"I just need to beat his stupid notion of revenge out of his head until he stops letting it rule his life. He's happy in Konoha, trust me."

"Your girlfriend always overlooked you in favor of him...and he never even gave a damn about her."

Naruto ignored the girlfriend comment in favor of his argument.

"It was what she wanted and we were just kids anyway, they couldn't help what they felt. He wasn't going to pretend to like her just to humor her and she wasn't ready to give up on him. It's that simple."

"You sure put yourself through a lot of grief for this kid...all that training, holding off on your dream of being Hokage, all your friends were made chuunin while you're still the only genin..."

"I had to save him!" Naruto hissed, scowling now at having such a sore subject brought up, "I knew who he really was, he's a good person he just needs help."

"Seems to me like he wasn't worth it," Inuyasha stated, looking at his claws and ignoring Naruto's growing anger, "He did stick a chidori through your chest...he tried to kill you multiple times, doesn't that tell you anything?"

Naruto bristled, "Look, I knew Sasuke, he was an ass but he would never have gone that far if it wasn't for damn Orochimaru's cursed seal! It doesn't matter what he did to me! He was my friend, of course I forgave him!"

He was ready to start swearing at the inu-hanyou, and not in the playful way that Harry always did. Inuyasha had never attacked his decisions like this before; they had always gotten along, so what suddenly brought this up?

Inuyasha stretched a hand out towards Naruto, who eyed the appendage warily as though he were ready to bite it, before it descended and soothingly patted him on the head.

"I'm glad to hear it."

Inuyasha stood after the simple statement and collected their empty bowls, leaving Naruto in his chair, stunned to silence and wondering what in the seven Hells was wrong with that man.

"Rest up," Inuyasha ordered as he walked out of the kitchen, "tomorrow I'm starting your Occlumency training."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"I was right."

Kagome could see her husband through the reflection of her vanity. She smiled at his self assured expression, running her brush through her long, ebony hair as she prepared for bed.

"I know."

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side, a smile of his own emerging across his features as he walked up behind his mate and lowered his face to the back of her head, planting a small kiss behind her ear.

"Oh, really?" he said wryly, "You knew he was one of us even when we learned he couldn't use blood magic?

Kagome met his occluded amber eyes in the mirror and coyly continued brushing her hair.

"Oh, I knew the first time I looked at him. You can always tell right off the bat if you know where to look. It's the eyes. You boys can try and appear as normal as the next guy all you want but your eyes will give you away in a second. They contain far too much power and depth—too much depth for any human to comprehend," Inuyasha seemed almost shocked behind her and she gave herself a small pat on the back: shocking her husband wasn't an everyday feat. "I've been around you and Harry long enough to appreciate how special you two are. Naruto is one of you...he's just got different affinities." She placed her brush the bureau and raised a delicate hand to her spouse's face, turning away from the mirror for a moment to kiss his cheek before whispering, "His core is light, baby."

Inuyasha should have known that the priestess would have sensed such a phenomenon right off the bat. His reflection pouted and he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You knew and you didn't tell me? Naughty wench..."

She giggled as he pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her stomach and nipping lightly at her neck.

"Can you blame me? I'm the mate of the great and evasive Inuyasha. I've got to have my own mystery about me."

Inuyasha could only grin, glad that he finally got not only proof of Naruto being a parallel soul to him and Harry, but also confirmation. He swiftly hauled Kagome over his shoulder and she shrieked and swore at him as he hastened over to their bed. This called for celebration.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

See, the seal hasn't been forgotten about. Obviously it'll play a larger role later. Okay, Occlumency/legilimency is added to the mix, and Naruto's going to get more coolio! We have not seen the last of the Naruto's interaction with the book though, or the crazy nature thing he did either. Its just slow development. -- and stop hounding me for the narusaku reunion, we've got a ways to go, but it will come and it will be good. Or I hope it will.

I think I'm permanently cross-eyed between all the studying and typing and researching I've been doing over finals (ahh! The next it 8:30 tomorrow morning!!). Oh woe is me, woe is me.

Thanks for reviewing lovelies!


	13. Miricles of Molecules

**Chapter 13**

The current tickles.

This was the first thought that drifted through Harry's mind when he finally managed to stand strait up on the Krishna River (a good distance away from the small Indie town by his gate—they were _still_ mad about that sparring incident). It lasted only a few seconds, of course, before the stream of magic he was holding on the pads of his feet began to waver and his slow submergence into the chilly waters below commenced.

"Ah, fuck," he growled as goosebumps broke out all over his body, the water leveling just above his knees.

"Almost," Naruto snickered from upstream. He was just dandy, easily staying afoot on the tremulous water yards away. The young man was working on his wind training, now changing the temperature and increasing the pressure in an attempt to freeze the river. Surprisingly he was making more progress than even Inuyasha had anticipated; the water near his outstretched palms would crystallize and harden before melting away back into the current.

"Yeah, well, magic is probably a lot harder to control than chakra," Harry groused, teetering on one leg as he tried to climb atop the water once more.

"Hey now, you were the one that was so desperate to learn this..." This was true; ever since Harry had seen Naruto standing on top of the river water during their very first spar he had been prattling on about it nonstop. Unfortunately his chakra canals were permanently hardened from disuse all his life so he was unable to use the shinobi method. However, the ever ingenious Inuyasha suggested he use magic in its stead. He also suggested that they wait until spring so that the water would be warm enough not to cause hypothermia, but cold enough for good incentive. Harry was finding the latter to be very accurate.

"You know," Harry grunted as he steadily lifted himself once more above the surface, "It probably doesn't help that I have the same problem you have."

"Problem?" Naruto queried. He was kneeling on the water as if it were as solid as rock; he was having no problems.

"Too much power, not enough control."

"Ah," that was something Naruto could agree with. He hardened his stare on the small space cupped between his hands. The air there began to swirl quickly in the likeness of a rasengan and its temperature dropped at an astonishing rate. Slowly, the water began to build and solidify; a small ice steeple grew within his hands, rising close to his head in his kneeling state. Harry had stumbled back to the shore and watched his apprentice work, giving his magical reserves a small break.

The water rushing along the base of Naruto's creation quickly began to wear it down until the bottom half of the ice sculpture was whisked away with a loud crack. Naruto's hands snapped up to hover around what was left of the higher part before it plunged into the water below. The air around it increased tenfold so that the wind was strong enough to keep a small platform of ice in the air.

Harry cocked his head to the side, a strange light coming into his eyes that would have been more liable to be seen in Inuyasha's.

"Naruto..."

"Hmm?" Naruto had the tip of his tongue curled cutely over his upper lip as he tried to keep the wind steady with one hand and use his other to cut off pieces of the ice chunk. He wanted to make hail!

"Have you ever thought about trying to walk on air?"

"Walk on air?" Naruto repeated the question absent mindedly, still dallying around with his ice until what was just said seemed to sink in. The ice slipped from his control, plunging into the water and splashing Naruto's shirt. Not that he had noticed; he was looking at Harry with a blank stare, still kneeling on top of the Krishna.

"Yeah," Harry replied nonchalantly, "You can already walk on water, right? You started out on solid objects like trees and buildings, then you moved onto liquid, so wouldn't the next step be to walk on air?"

Naruto stared wide-eyed at the wizard who was casually leaning back on his elbows and soaking up the sun to warm his chilled body. His mind was racing with all the possibilities of what Harry just implied. He recalled years ago naively dreaming about walking on air, but learning the basics of chakra control left him with the understanding that it was impossible.

"Hundreds of shinobi had thought of that and as far as I know there hasn't been any success," he informed the other with disappointment clear in his voice. It was obviously something he found appealing.

"But you have an elemental's control on wind...that's not chakra-based per say...I mean, you clearly have to ability to keep things airborne..." Harry gestured to the spot where Naruto had the ice held in the wind's grip. "Come on...brainstorm with me."

Naruto gave one last uncertain look at Harry before standing and walking over to the other boy. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but if Harry honestly thought there was a way to combine his wind manipulations with chakra to achieve this then maybe it could be done.

Harry waited until Naruto settled down next to him on the river bank before he spoke again, "Now, what was the difference between walking on solids and walking on liquids?"

"Well, with solids I just use my chakra to stick myself to something by gathering it in one spot. On water, as you should know by now, I have to use a constant circulation."

"This must be because of the different consistency of the molecules...," Harry thought out loud, his eyes darting between the moving water and the wet soil it ran along next to. "With solids, they're close together so it's easy for your chakra to latch onto it...but they're more spread out with a liquid so...the constant flow of the chakra must be to compensate for that! You have to constantly move your chakra—"

"—to bind together the loose molecules so that there will be something solid to stand on!" Naruto finished brightly. It made perfect sense to him, which was almost more surprising than the theory on the whole. "So the trick is to make something solid after all!"

Harry had the same animated face his apprentice had on. It had been quite a while since he had to think outside of the "magical" box. In all the splendor of the many jutsus he had seen, it was easy for him to forget that chakra was _not_ magic and therefore had to have some logic that pertained to the laws of physics.

"Maybe," Naruto murmured excitably, "if I use my chakra to condense the air molecules so much it creates something corporeal..."

"Sounds like a lot of chakra control."

Naruto bit his lip, "Well there has to be more to it than that. There has to be some other elements involved…something to help it along. I mean, I bet tons of shinobi who have better chakra than me have tried that before."

"You used the raw force of the wind to hold the ice in the air by containing it with your hands, right? Do you think you could do something like that with your feet?" Harry suggested.

"I don't know..." Naruto said thoughtfully while extending one leg out in front of him. His eyes squinted a bit and his hands twitched by his sides, itching to help out. There was a small amount of air movement around the soles of his feet that brushed up some dry dirt. Naruto let it drop a moment later with a small pant.

"Okay...so that was harder..." clearly this was going to take a lot of work.

Harry waved him off. "You've never tried that before. I think you had the right idea with the freezing thing you were fucking around with before..."

"Heat expands, cold condenses...that could actually work if I can get more control with my feet. I'll probably have to mediate more," Naruto decided to himself.

"This whole thing sounds like complete bull shit."

"Yes it does."

"Think you could make it work?"

"Sure do!"

"Alright!" Harry cheered, jumping up with uncharacteristic likeness to Gai, "let's try this!"

"Right!" Naruto followed the suit, hopping to his feet and making the ram seal. A second later and thousands of Naruto's had appeared all over the area. Some hung in trees, others stood atop the river, and all had that ever present cocky smirk.

"Since I have no idea how to do this...I'll just experiment."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

A glorious blue hue highlighted the cavern of the Akatsuki hideout. After blazing for four long and tiring days it finally began to fade away, indicating the end of an extracting ceremony. The snaky entities flew back into the mouth of the enormous statue and seven pupils were hidden away as all eyes—save for the irreversibly damaged middle—began to close. The seven remaining Akatsuki members were finally allowed a breather, each stepping down from their respective stone fingers and congregating in the middle of the lair.

"The only one left is the Rokubi, the six-tailed dog demon." The leader commented to the rest of the cloak wearing individuals. He turned to Zetsu, Tobi, and Deidara, the frown barely visible on his face. "Since you were unable to carry out such a simple task I am assigning all six of you to retrieve this last bijuu. It will happen quickly and efficiently; there is no need for secrecy, our objective has already been leaked out to those who matter. The sooner we collect the bijuu the sooner we can begin our operation, which will leave less time for the kages to think of any counteractions."

"But what about the Kyuubi? Won't the statue not work without all of the bijuus sealed inside of it?" the blue-haired member asked, starting out strong and ending tentatively as the leader fixed it's eerie glare on her.

"The Kyuubi is no long a part of this world," the leader answered coldly, "It is within my power to alter the sealing properties of the statue. This is not your concern anyhow, retrieve that bijuu immediately."

The edge in his voice was enough to scatter every member who hadn't use a projection and dispel every one who had.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely sure?"

Jiraiya huffed in annoyance at his teammate; he hated it when his information gathering skills were called into question.

"Of course I'm sure."

"So if they've obtained the Nanabi then that leaves only one more bijuu for them to capture." Tsunade concluded after hearing what the toad sage had to say. It was nine in the morning and Tsunade had barely begun the tedious stacks of paper work surrounding her when the man hopped through her window with the unpleasant news. She found the whole situation increasingly worrisome. The more bijuu the Akatsuki got a hold of the more threatening their organization became to not only Konoha, but to the shinobi way of life.

"I'm afraid there's more," Jiraiya continued and Tsunade had to stop herself from cursing, "There's rumor that the last bijuu is located in lightening country."

"Well that's good news then isn't it? Since we now know where the last bijuu is we can make preparations to keep it out of their hands."

Jiraiya held up a hand, indicating that he wasn't finished.

"Yes, but working against us is the fact that it appears all the remaining members of the Akatsuki are being sent to retrieve it. There's no team in Konoha strong enough to take on that many Akatsuki. Not even we are that powerful."

He watched as the blonde's eyes narrowed and focused on a point on the wall directly across from her. He had seen this look on her face many times before—it was her look of intense concentration, when she really began to strategize. She used it when in battle and the situation had just taken a turn for the worse, or when she is given a patient whose ailment or injury is a mystery to all others.

After a long silence which Jiraiya endured with aberrant patience she spoke up, "I believe it's time we called in our allegiances."

Jiraiya raised a white eyebrow.

"If I recall, our allegiances aren't as great as we would like, especially after the Third Great Shinobi War."

It appeared Tsunade understood this—her routed expression said as much—but she also understood that a new war was coming, and pride should not be a part of it.

"This is a matter that concerns all five of the great shinobi nations. It's time we put aside our differences and band together to defeat a common enemy. The Akatsuki have become too much of a threat to all of us.

Jiraiya looked out the window; the sun was just making its way over the tallest building from that view, washing the entire business sector of the city in a golden light. No one could say Konoha wasn't beautiful. He had to wonder just how long this beauty would last. The people milling around the streets this very moment were completely unaware that the city could by razed any day now by a bijuu sent by the Akatsuki. The veil of false peace that had covered the leaf citizens and shinobi was about to be lifted and in the most brutal manner imaginable. The Akatsuki would strike every outstanding shinobi outposts in their world without warning or mercy.

Looking back at his teammate (who was now filling out letters to be sent to the other kages) left him suddenly feeling all his fifty-four years. It now occurred to him that this impending war would be one that was just about past his time. There would be no heroic battles or last minute victories this time around. He was powerful but he was old, and, despite the near-flawless genjutsu the blonde in front of him bared, this was a war that was well past her time too.

The silenced reigned in the significant office with only the scratching of the pen to accompany the heavy air. Deep within the recess of each sannin's mind was the same train of thought. Their apprentices had surpassed them; now that their legacies were secured there was little else that they could contribute to this world. They would fight and they would leave their mark as best they could with their old-fashioned techniques and slowing bodies, but neither had ever been optimists. They were both prepared to accept the obvious outcome: whether the Akatsuki were defeated or not would have little effect on their own lives.

There was a very real chance that this war would be their last.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

It was days like these that Bridget Nagasaki wondered why she even loved the boy at all.

"I am so bored..."

Bridget raised an eyebrow and threw down a somewhat disgusted look at her intended mate who lay sprawled out on her kitchen floor. A soft, moaning noise of agreement drew her attention to a different part of the room, where the younger of her father's two apprentices was slouched against the floor cabinets, looking equally as pathetic.

"Don't you guys have some kind of training you could be doing?" she asked, resuming the buttering of her after school toast snack.

"We train all the time...I need to do something different but I forgot what else there is to do..." Naruto mumbled with his eyes closed, bumping his head a few times on the drawer behind him. The end of spring was nearing which brought them into the season of demon hunting known as 'the calm before the storm'. Mating season was just a couple months away and with it came erratic and rogue behaviors from demons of every kind. It was the time of year demon hunters of all calibers looked forward to: working insane hours and having their skills tested to their limits. However, it was common for all demon activity to dwindle down to an unsatisfying stream just before the mating season. The assignments had been coming in slow for the boys, which meant more time for training, but even that began to loose its appeal as the days wore on.

"Oh, come on, you boys are creative...I'm sure you'll find something to entertain yourselves with. Why don't you go steal some of the country club's golf carts again and go for a joy ride? I'd go with you."

"Nah...I feel like being pro—," Harry's argument was interrupted with a heavy yawn, "—productive today."

"Look, I don't care what you do, productive or not, but would you please get the hell off of the floor. I don't think I've ever seen anything more pathetic...not including that time you apparently had the "giggles" during an assignment and didn't have the strength to pull yourself out of harms way. I still can't believe that a rookie hunter had to save you!"

Instead of looking offended at bringing up the year-old memory Harry started to laugh a little.

"Oh, that was a fun day..."

Bridget stared a moment longer at the young man who now had his head under one of the dining table's chairs and was idly staring up at the canvas underside. She heaved a sigh before finishing up her soda and tossing it in the recycling bin. Naruto perked up a bit at the gentle clanging of aluminum, an idea quickly forming in his dangerously bored mind.

"Oh!" he suddenly cried, "Let's make one of those can-phones!"

"Can-phones?" Harry asked, sitting up while cautious about banging his head on the chair.

"Can-phones?" Bridget asked as well, but with a bit more distaste.

"You know," Naruto said, "when you take two tin cans and attach a string to each one and use it like a telephone?"

"Tell me you're joking," Biddy couldn't believe what she was hearing; there was no way Harry would ever agree to participate in something so childishly stupid.

Harry released a thrilled gasp as if Naruto had just suggested something brilliant and revolutionary, "Yeah!"

Bridget made a desperate face and dropped her shoulders, "I can't believe I'm witnessing this..."

Despite how painful she found it to watch two of the most renowned heroes of their world play with a ball of yarn and two cans she stuck around to observe them. It wasn't all that bad for her; as the boys failed in all their attempts the whole situation became much more comical.

The kitchen door opened and none other than Kagome walked inside with the two year old Caleb balanced on one hip and a load of groceries wrapped in her other arm. She didn't seem to notice anything amiss at first in her harried state.

"Hey, can you guys help me unload the car? I've got a few more bags of groceries left in there and...," she trailed off a bit, absentmindedly lowering the paper bag filled with food down on the nearest countertop as she saw Harry and Naruto sitting cross-legged on the floor, each holding a tin can and fiddling with yards of string.

"What are those two doing?" she asked a laidback Bridget whom she had spotted out of her peripheral.

"Bonding I guess," was the curly-haired girl's reply. She was almost glad she stuck around as the boys began to bicker.

"No! No! Don't use a can opener!" Naruto cried in distress while knocking the can opener away from Harry's grip with a sweep of his arm.

"Don't bitch-slap things out of my hands!" Harry countered and he whacked the tin can that Naruto was holding strait out of his hand. Kagome was still in a small state of surprise when her son began to speak to her.

"Mama, they is playing with the string and you said, you said not to go in daddy's office." Caleb informed his mother, thinking the other two boys were under the same rules as he was. Kagome's expression warmed as she focused on the little brunette.

"Yes, honey. Daddy will deal with them later. Why don't you play with them while mommy gets the groceries?"

"Okay!" he readily agreed. He liked playing with Harry and Naruto, whenever the two visited they would always sneak him an extra cookie or give him really fun rides by holding onto him and jumping all around the different floors—things his mommy otherwise wouldn't let him do. The second his little feet touched the ground he scurried over to the pair on the floor where he received a warm greeting of ruffled hair and high fives.

Glad that she got her son temporarily occupied, Kagome and Bridget made quick work of the groceries, taking them out of the car and putting away all the food in their respective cupboards. When they finished the boys were still on the floor with no can-phone invented. They did, however, manage to nearly mummify the two year old with string.

"You know, I never thought I'd say this, but would you two please go out and train or something? You're just making a mess," Kagome tisked while trying to untie her clapping son, "And you've wasted a whole roll of string."

She was ignored—not a common action from either of the boys—as the young men were now fighting over the thin cord tangled around their fingers with Caleb laughing in delight. No one noticed two more people enter the residence.

"Uzumaki! Think fast!" Naruto looked up startled, only to feel like he had a sledge hammer slam into his forehead from behind his eyes. Caught completely off guard, he threw his mental shields up just in time to feel his first, outer Occlumency shield shatter but have the probe bounce off the second, stronger wall just behind it. It was over in what felt like a second and the next thing he knew was that a tiny hand was touching his face. He blinked a few spots out of his vision, barely registering that Harry was no longer seated next to him and Kagome was upon Inuyasha scolding him for something or another. Little Cal was before him, looking so concerned with his grey-blue eyes and droopy dog ears.

"Naruto? Did you get a booboo?" he asked as he continued to pat on the whiskered cheeks. Naruto smiled and rubbed a fuzzy black ear much to the delight of the younger boy.

"No, I was just surprised that's all. Don't worry about me."

"You alright?" he heard from above him and he looked up to see Harry standing over him, peering through the lenses of his glasses with unease.

"Uh...yeah, yeah I'm fine," he said, his mind finally catching up with his body and he too stood. He had to wonder how much time had actually passed when he saw that the can and string were gone; Bridget had probably already picked it up.

"It's cruel! You can't do that to people, breaking into their minds," Kagome protested to her husband with her hands on her hips.

"Kagome, honey—"

"Don't you honey me! I can't believe you would—"

"Kagome," Inuyasha broke in again, "He is my apprentice."

"So! That doesn't warrant attacking him like that—"

"Kagome," he said again, slightly louder to emphasize that she needed to stop talking. She did settle down a bit but continued to illustrate that less-than-pleased expression on her face. "As my apprentice it's my job to train him and test him on that training."

"I'm fine Kagome," Naruto spoke up as he made his way over to the two. He smiled foxily at the pair, "he barely made it past my first wall!"

Kagome fixed Naruto a bewildered look, mirroring Harry and Bridget's, "What?"

Inuyasha smiled proudly and threw an arm around the blonde, "It's true. It must be from all that meditating. He has much more promise in Occlumency than had I originally anticipated. It seems I'll be teaching you Legilimency after all."

"Damn," Harry moaned. That was another thing Naruto had over him, the boy in question now bouncing around with the excitement of learning something new. It was then Naruto noticed the other individual who had entered with Inuyasha (which was a bit shameful considering his skill in detecting demonic auras).

"Eh? Kouga?"

"Yo!" the wolf demon called out cheekily. He seemed immensely entertained by all the commotion around him and had felt no need to interfere beforehand. He was still in his work suit and held his human illusion that hid his eyes, ears and tail from the world.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked and Kouga mocked being offended.

"What? I can't visit my favorite household?"

Bridget gave her uncle-figure a dry look.

"You only come here for the food. And to teach Caleb bad things."

Kouga's face only brightened, making Kagome quite weary as he turned his attention on her son.

"Hey, hey, Caleb," The little boy padded his way over to the older man as he was called, "what did you learn last time?"

Caleb bit his lip, looked at his parent's faces, and hid his face in his hands.

"Come on," Kouga urged, "show your dad what the bad guy said."

Caleb smiled at Kouga and then turned to his father, pointing his finger at the bemused hanyou as he tried to put on an angry face

"Keep the change ya filphy aminal!" he rumbled, quoting his favorite line from the old movie he watched a couple rainy days ago. Though it was said in the meanest voice he could muster he couldn't help breaking out into giggles immediately after. Inuyasha barked out a laugh and picked up his squealing son.

"Where did you learn that?" Kagome asked while trying not to sound too humored. As funny as it was, she didn't need her son threatening people with cheesy lines.

"Home Awone!"

Kagome whacked the cackling Kouga on the arm before shooting looks at Harry, Bridget and Naruto that shut them up as well. She took Caleb from her father and gave him a stern look.

"You know I don't like that kind of talk. I think you need a bath."

"No!" Caleb cried in horror, "No bath!"

"Don't you say 'no' to me. You're stinky." She said and Caleb pouted, whether because she called him stinky or because he was getting a bath, she didn't know.

"I'll give him one," Bridget offered and Kagome, thankful, handed the girl's little brother over to her. Giving her son a bath was something she always liked to pawn off onto other people. After getting that out of the way she set onto her next priority: making sure Naruto was _really_ okay.

"I told you that I was fine," Naruto deadpanned when she approached him and began rubbing his head.

"Your rendition of fine and mine are two very different things." She replied, "Are you sure you don't have a headache or anything?"

"I'm sure," he mumbled, blushing as Kouga, Inuyasha and Harry all snickered at her mothering. She ignored the boys and continued to run her fingers through his hair, frowning a bit at the length—he hadn't had his hair cut since he came to them and while it didn't grow fast, it was reaching a length that weighed down many of the spikes. Something caught her eye; something she almost missed because he was getting taller than her and it was difficult for her to see that far up.

"Your roots are turning a bit red." She said, sifting through his thick hair a bit to get a better look. The other guys stepped in a bit to see if it was true. Sure enough, about two centimeters off the scalp was a burgundy shade that offset the cornflower locks.

"What?" Naruto asked worriedly, whishing he had a mirror, "I'm going red?"

"I know," Harry said in respect to his upset tone, "what will you use now as an excuse for your stupidity?"

"Harry," Inuyasha said halfheartedly, disapproving of his teasing.

"Hush," Kagome spoke to both boys, "it's not all the roots. It looks like you might get highlights of it though."

"Oh! Like with Harry's silver in his hair? Yeah, that's not so bad..." Naruto decided. It might even look cool.

"It's begun," Inuyasha grinned.

"What has?" Naruto asked, stepping away from all the fingers grappling at his hair.

"The crazy changes," Harry replied with the same impious smile. Naruto hung his head. He knew it was coming sooner or later; his DNA was going through a renovation period that would alter his physical appearance as well as his behavior.

"So, I hear you're trying to walk on air too. How's that going?" Kouga asked conversationally.

Naruto and Harry shared a grin. "Better. I've actually managed to stand a few inches above the water. It helps to be around liquid because when I'm on water my chakra is already flowing at a steady rate. Since the molecules just above the water are a bit thicker it makes the transition easier.

"Yeah, but now he's trying to figure out a way to propel himself forwards." Harry added. His water walking abilities were nearly perfected; the boys often liked to spar on top of any body of water they could find so that Harry could continue water walking and Naruto could attempt fighting on air. Either way, Harry still always won.

"So I can fly!" Naruto piped up. Kagome gave the two silly boys warm looks. She was happy for them; those two would work day and night in between assignments trying to do the impossible.

"Fly, huh?"

Naruto gave Inuyasha a hard look, "Yeah, that's right. I'll be flying, and then I can kick your ass."

Both Kouga and Harry burst out laughing

"Shut up Harry, I almost got you last week!"

Much to Kagome's surprise Harry actually stopped laughing and turned a bit pink around the cheeks, confirming Naruto's statement.

"Cub, you'd have to defeat me before you could even hope to defeat a guy like Inuyasha," Kouga said. Centuries ago would have left him choking on his own spit had he been forced to utter such a sentence. But as the years wore on he was given no choice but to accept that the dog hanyou had surpass him to a level that even the ever-powerful Lord Sesshomaru could not follow.

"I can defeat you!" Naruto declared, "I can defeat you with just one move!"

This set Harry off laughing again to join in with Kouga while Inuyasha gazed at the boy with interest.

"How do you expect to do that?" he asked.

Naruto batted his eyes a bit with a wicked grin, "Like this: oiroke no jutsu!"

His hands formed a familiar seal and a second later the kitchen was filled with a light smoke. When it cleared the reaction was immediate. Kouga had to bend over and cover his nose to hide the tickle of blood that leaked from it. Harry stood stock still and slack jawed, his face was the reddest it had ever been and his eyes were large with admiration. Kagome was frozen in place too, though her face was quite pale from the shock of seeing her innocent little Naruto turn into a naked woman.

Inuyasha seemed like the only one who was unaffected and pointed to the stringy plumes shrouding her unmentionables. "I like your clouds...do they come in navy blue?"

Full, pink lips shifted into a pout, disappointed that she couldn't get a reaction out of the most powerful being there.

"Teach me that," Harry said once he found his voice again, "_please_."

"Na—get—turn back now!" Kagome ordered, her face now flushing with anger as the smoke began to clear, revealing much more than she needed to see. "Where did you ever learn that?"

Another pop and Naruto was before them once more, clothed, male, and looking quite pleased with himself despite Kagome's approaching wrath.

"I made it up. I've found that it's good for taking out perverts." He said this with a jerk of the head towards the wolf demon. Kouga sniffled a bit, a grin stretched across his face even though he had just been called out as a pervert.

"You've got to give the kid credit...that was one nifty jutsu."

"Yo-ho!" Inuyasha agreed.

"You are not a pirate anymore," Kouga said with flat eyes.

"Argg..." Another dry look shut the dog up.

"I'm going upstairs to check on Caleb and Bridget," Kagome said with as much patience as she could muster, "and when I get back down all of you better be out of the house...degenerates..."

The boys all looked at one another as she stalked out of the room.

"To the porch?"

0o0o0o

0o0o0o

The four men were safely away from the two deadly females (there was no doubt in their minds that Kagome ranted to Bridget about what had happened) situated on the porch, each with a firewhisky in hand and watching the sun rest over the west horizon. Naruto took a small sip of the strong alcohol. He could recall plenty of times when Jiraiya would take him out drinking or when he had snuck out with some newly made friends on his travels to go party, and he quickly learned that most human alcohol had very little affect on him. His demonic metabolism would label it as a poison and disable it quickly and effectively. As a warrior, this was not always the best thing. People drank to forget, or at least get buzzed, and it didn't seem like an option for him. Luckily, in this world there was a delightful substance known as firewhisky—an alcoholic beverage that could be utilized by both humans and demons. For humans it was a risky thing; too much and it could kill them. But demons could get a pretty decent buzz if given enough. So it was no surprise that it was the number one alcohol in both the Nagasaki and Potter residences. Since Naruto was still considered underage he was only allowed to drink it in the company of Inuyasha or Harry (of course Kagome didn't trust letting only Harry supervise his drinking—he couldn't imagine why).

"But seriously, you will teach me that right?" Harry asked for the hundredth time. Naruto just shook his head.

"Sorry, but I've got to have something to hold over you."

"What are you talking about?" Harry complained, "You have elemental abilities and Occlumency...and soon Legilimency! That's plenty enough. Please?"

"Nope, nope," Naruto chirped and took another burning sip of the strong alcohol. His body was already in a happy fuzz.

Harry scowled and chucked his empty bottle at the other. Despite Naruto's slightly inebriated state he had no trouble dodging and allowing the missile to safely sail over his head. Thankfully it missed the stone walkway and landed in the grass in one piece with a soft thud.

"Harry, don't litter my lawn" Inuyasha rebuked before taking a swig of his own.

"Yeah, yeah," Harry grumbled and waved his hand. The bottle magically flew up from the ground and into his hand. It was at that moment, as Harry was wiping bits of grass from the rim of the glass that something suddenly occurred to Naruto, something that made him want to smack himself in the head over and over and over again.

He had seen Harry summon things plenty of times—more often than not, wandlessly—but he never really thought of it as summoning. Bridget, who could not perform wandless or silent magic nearly as efficiently as Harry, would say _'accio'_ and then the object would fly at her. But for some reason, it was this time, the umpteenth time, that it clicked in his mind that this was a summoning charm. A _summoning_ charm.

"Oh my God!"

His outburst was so sudden that the bottle fell out of Harry's hands once more and Kouga choked a bit on his own mouthful.

"What?" Harry asked, picking up the glass.

"I can't believe I never thought of this before!" Naruto cried, jumping to his feet and walking feverishly all over the wooden deck. Kouga and Inuyasha sat silently, watching him pace all about. Harry wasn't so calm.

"What? What?"

Instead of answering right away Naruto began bouncing around on the balls of his feet, flapping his hands around excitedly.

"I'm such an idiot!"

"Wha—oh, well, yeah, you are..."

"Harry!" Naruto yelled.

"What?" Harry snapped, "What damnit?"

"I know how I can talk to my friends back in Konoha!"

"..."

All three men now stared at the youngest, completely at a loss as to what he might say next.

Naruto didn't seem to care that they were staring at him as though he were crazy. He flapped his hands a bit more before bellowing: "Summoning!!!"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

I...I...I have no excuse (drops head in shame). For the first week after finals I didn't even get to see a computer (it was the busy season for our family business and since I'm the only one not in school I got the burnt of the "fun"). But this past week...yeah...coughsims2cough

And the worst part of all is...I may not be able to update for about two months.

I'm sorry!!! My summer job is about to start and I work cut off from all human and electronic communications. I talk only by snail mail. If it wasn't for all the boys and money it wouldn't even be worth it. So sorry, but money wins over leisure. I promise I'll have some really awesome chapters up after I get back.

Anywhoo...we were all wondering when that sexy jutsu would show up, so there it was. Walking on air, mind attacks, physical changes, Hogwarts—oh wait, that's next chapter, whoops. ;)

Just a note: time passes the same in both worlds. And I knew summoning was an option from the beginning, but I had to make Naruto act a little stupid. Cuz that's how he is, but adorably so.

I wouldn't be surprised if you guys didn't want to review as punishment for my horrible tardiness…and impending tardiness...but know that it's always a welcomed option :)


	14. Alright, New Plan

**Chapter 14**

_Last time:_

"_I know how I can talk to my friends back in Konoha!"_

"_..."_

_All three men now stared at the youngest, completely at a loss as to what he might say next._

_Naruto didn't seem to care that they were staring at him as though he were crazy. He flapped his hands a bit more before bellowing: "Summoning!!!"_

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Naruto stared at the three silent figures in front of him.

They stared back.

Why couldn't they showing a little enthusiasm? This was big news here!

A few more seconds of aimless staring and the awkward silence was finally broken by Harry.

"Naruto," he spoke in a slow voice, "If you think I'm going to summon one of your ninja friends through Merlin knows how many dimensional barriers just to talk to you—"

"What? No! No! Ugh, that's not what I meant!" Naruto heaved a maddened sigh. He had to remind himself that animal summons were not known to this world. He looked to Kouga and Inuyasha as either had yet to say anything. Both continued to give the blonde blank looks, waiting for a sensible explanation. Well, it was his philosophy that explanations were better done through actions than words anyway.

"I'll just show you guys..." he pinched the skin on his thumb between his teeth, quickly flashing through the proper hand seals before the wound healed and slammed his bleeding hand on the ground. A ring of thin black calligraphy branched out along the polished wood beneath his palm as he called: "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke erupted –"what is it with these ninja and their smoke?" Kouga muttered—and frittered away into the young summer air, revealing a six-foot tall, rough-skinned, red toad filling up half the porch. As if this wasn't weird enough, it was wearing a navy blue vest lined with fur, a pair of black gloves on its front feet, and, to top it off, a pipe in its mouth.

"Bro?" the toad spoke with, funnily enough, a New Yorkan accent.

"Gamakichi!" Naruto cried and glomped the uncomfortable amphibian as best he could, giving him an adoring hug. Words could not describe the intense feelings of nostalgia, pining, and happiness that just seeing the toad had brought out in Naruto. He hadn't realized there was still a sliver of homesickness planted deep inside his stomach that only seemed to grow and pulse with every mention of the shinobi world. Just now he would give anything to smell the forests of Konoha or taste the amazing ramen dishes of Ichiraku's or see Sakura's unique pink hair, even when it was flying around and unkempt as she pummeled him to the ground for some misrepresented action or another.

"There is a huge ass frog...on my porch..."

Inuyasha's peculiar tone of voice reminded Naruto of were he was: not in Konoha, nowhere near Konoha, and with no plans to be there anytime soon.

"I'm a toad," Gamakichi grumbled, his large form slumped in acceptance from the recent onslaught of affection, still half covered by Naruto's body.

"And it's talking to me," Inuyasha continued, his eyebrows rising. He seemed to be taking the absurdity of it all rather well compared to the other two, who were standing, wide eyed and a safe distance from the mark of the summon.

"Where the effing hell did that come from?!" Harry yelled from behind Kouga. On the other hand, the wolf demon remained quite tight lipped, his eyebrows nearly as high as Inuyasha's.

"Some other dimension I think," Naruto calmly replied and looked to Gamakichi for confirmation.

"That's right," the toad croaked, "In the world I'm from there are all types of ancient animal lines. Only the most renowned of families, like us toads, have made contracts with humans. In fact, most of the ones who aren't tied to a contract don't even believe humans exist. I don't blame them though; you try to explain a mammal that has no fur, walks on two legs, and tends to destroy each other for ridiculous reasons..."

Naruto rolled his eyes, quite used to this kind of talk, and continued, "Yeah, I had to sign the summoning scroll aligned with toad summons with my own blood. I also need blood to initiate each summon, like you just saw. I'd show you the scroll but Ero-sennin has it."

"And this scroll pulls them into whatever world you're summoning from?" Inuyasha confirmed.

"Seems like it."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" the hanyou asked after a moment of digesting the information. It wasn't spoken in a critical voice at all, rather, one of detached puzzlement. Harry noticed with a small sense of dread the all too familiar look of awareness on the hanyou's strong features. It was so obvious to him that Inuyasha already had the beginnings of some in depth plan brewing deep within his mind that would take months of unexpected events and insane requests for the wizard to finally unveil.

However, Naruto did not know Inuyasha's quirks nearly as well as Harry and could feel his face burn with shame at the obvious question.

"I forgot," he answered honestly, finally easing up off of Gamakichi.

"You forgot that you could summon large amphibians from a parallel world?" Inuyasha asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Kouga said, "I also find that hard to believe."

"You guys—!" Naruto cried in a winging tone, upset that they wouldn't believe him; Harry wanted to laugh at how worked up Naruto was getting over every other thing that was said to him. He couldn't even imagine how he must have been at that age—flipping out at the slightest accusation. "I really did! There's been so much going on and I've been trying to keep up with—"

"Woah, woah! Its fine kit," Inuyasha easily assured him with a light chuckle. "No one's blaming you. But I'm glad you thought of it, belated as it was."

This seemed to calm the blonde because he immediately turned back to the toad by his side without a second glance at the others.

"Gamakichi, has Ero-sennin summoned you lately?"

"Yeah bro, loads a' times. He keeps askin us if we've heard from you. I think he figured that for some reason, wherever you were, you weren't able to summon us," Naruto blushed once more but Gamakichi didn't seem to notice his discomfort. He was too busy checking out his surroundings with candid curiosity, "Say, where is this place anyways?"

Naruto sighed, "No where near Konoha, I can tell you that much."

He proceeded to explain to the best of his ability (meaning Inuyasha and Harry helped a lot) his entire situation, starting from the day he forced an opening into Hell and ending with his recent elemental training. By the time he finished it was much darker outside; the sun had disappeared over the horizon and the air buzzed with the chirps of crickets. Despite this, none of the demonic beings' eyesight seemed to be affected in the least by the lack of light.

"Are you saying I'm in a whole other world here?" Gamakichi asked with a manner of disbelief.

"Well aren't you from one yourself?" Inuyasha countered for his charge. The toad could only shrug his hefty shoulders.

"Suppose so."

"So what's happening back in Konoha? Is everyone alright?" Naruto asked before the conversation was sidetracked once more.

"Not much that I know. Every time I've been summoned it's been short and sweet. Just asking about you mostly. I do know that that group that was after you is on the move again."

"Akatsuki?" Naruto hissed.

"Yeah, that's it. They've taken up collecting demons again. The good news is that you're out of the running for now. They think your history and that the Kyuubi is out of their hands for good."

"It _is_ if I have anything to say about it," the boy huffed, crossing his arms determinedly. "Is that it?"

"Can't think of anything else."

"Alright. Then just tell Ero-sennin that I'm fine and everything about my training that I've told you, alright?"

If a toad could cock an eyebrow this one would have, "Are you dismissing me?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed. He couldn't very well have the toad stick around just because it made him feel a little closer to Konoha—that would only be teasing himself. With a brief good-bye and a loud ping the toad was replaced by a cloud of smoke roughly the same size as he left that world.

"Ah," Kouga coughed, "that damn smoke again..."

"You don't have to release him or anything?" Inuyasha asked, ignoring Kouga's dramatic hacking, "he just leaves at will?"

"It depends. A lot of times they just leave but there are also times when they run out of chakra and are forced to go back. I guess it takes some effort to stay in this world," Naruto informed him.

From his part of the porch Harry was observing Inuyasha's actions. His amber eyes were slightly squinted and his focus was lowered. Every now and then his jaw would twitch as a new idea would present itself or prove useless.

_Oh yes_, he thought to himself, _Inuyasha was defiantly thinking up something_

"Alright! New plan!" Inuyasha clapped enthusiastically. Such sudden movement out of his previous inactive state had shocked Kouga out of his ninja-smoke grumbling.

"Wait..." Harry interrupted before he could get going, "What was the old one?"

"...shut up. You boys are going to Hogwarts!"

"What?" Harry cried, despairingly. He certainly hadn't see _this_ coming.

"Yay!" Naruto jumped up, following Inuyasha's enthusiasm.

"Uh-huh. Today!"

"WHAT?"

"YAY!

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

The largest meeting room in Konoha's Hokage tower was alive with the sound of pre-meeting murmurs and creaking chairs; men and women dressed in defining robes and hats waited impatiently with their entourage for the meeting to commence. Never before, since the foundation of the five great shinobi nations, had there been a single meeting of every Kage. Curiously enough, Kabuto, the new Sound village leader, had the gall and sense to arrive. Of course a notice had to be sent despite all the bad blood—the Sound village was undeniably in the running for the sixth great Shinobi nation.

Tsunade sat on her plane of the wide, circular table with Jiraiya and Shizune on either side of her. The pair was the only support she required despite knowing Shizune would spend more time hissing her concerns in one ear while Jiraiya would simply sit quietly, absorb everything, and speak his mind later. Deciding to get the show on the road she cleared her throat loudly and waited for a complete hush before speaking.

"Thank you all for coming. I understand that not everyone is on the best of terms," as this was said several accusing looks were passed around between the appropriate arguing nations. The Tsuchikage had frowned at her but remained otherwise stoic while Kabuto merely smiled, "But I trust that all of you, including myself, will be able to put aside our differences, no matter how petty or serious, and act towards the greater good."

She was met with a stiff silence and took this as a sign to continue.

"I'm sure the activities of a certain terrorist group known as the Akatsuki have not escaped your notice, particularly those whose village played host to a jinchuuriki. The Akatsuki's purpose, by and large, comes down to driving every ninja society out of business. This is not acceptable to any of us, of that I am sure. Another threat this organization poses to us is their methods. They are collecting the tailed bijuu one by one. They will use said bijuu to wreak terror on our villages, killing hundreds, maybe thousands, and we will have no choice but to meet their demands. We will become completely at their mercy."

"Without these demons in their possession this plan of theirs is fruitless. We just have to keep these demons out of their hands," the Raikage threw out as if the answer was obvious.

"Here in the problem lies," Tsunade replied with pursed lips, "There is only one bijuu left for them to collect, they have located it, and every single one of these S-class missing-nins began their journey to retrieve it several days ago."

Gasps and angry whispers flooded the table.

"They have days on us," the Raikage argued again above the ruckus, "If what you say about their skill is true then days is all they need to collect that last bijuu."

"Are you suggesting we don't try?" the cold voice belonged to none other than the Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand. The chilling sound still had the affect of immediate silence. "A good friend of mine died keeping a demon out of their hands. We would do well to follow the same determination to protect our villages."

"Are you speaking of the nine-tailed jinchuuriki?" the Mizukage butted in, looking at Gaara and then at Tsunade, "he belonged to Konoha, did he not?"

Tsunade should have expected this to come up. After all, the near escape of the most powerful bijuu followed by an explosive opening to Hell was not easy to miss. The rumors that flew along the countryside were almost as outrageous as the truth. There was no doubt in her mind that every representative present had some understanding of what happened at the Akatsuki lair. Just how much they knew was the variable here.

"He was a loyal Konoha ninja," she said evenly, going with the general notion that they all perceived him as dead, "and he managed to keep the Kyuubi out of the Akatsuki's hands, which is more than I can say for any other jinchuuriki."

There was some more murmuring and seat shifting. A few leaders lowered their eyes, knowing that they had done next to nothing to keep their own jinchuuriki out of those dangerous hands, instead option to rid themselves of a potential threat or burden.

"So it is true," the Otokage mused aloud. Tsunade's honey colored eyes snapped to his, and he smiled politely. She was getting no bad vibes from him but that wouldn't mean that she would let her guard down. After all, he was a former Sound spy who had planted himself in Konoha for an indiscernible amount of years. Kabuto continued to speak with his constant, genial manner. "I find it amazing that Naruto-kun was not only the youngest existing Jinchuuriki but also held the most powerful of the tailed beasts. In addition to this he was successful in fulfilling the duties of a true jinchuuriki."

He paused for an obvious dramatic effect.

"He protected his selected bijuu from everything that threatened to take it. He sacrificed himself to keep the Kyuubi from attaining freedom. It makes sense; after all, the word jinchuuriki means the 'power of human sacrifice'."

Tsunade had no idea what Kabuto was playing at; talking up Naruto as he had been. This wasn't a meeting to maintain peace between the nations and solved the unresolved. It was a meeting to attain a common goal. This alone told her it wasn't some ploy to get back into Konoha's good graces.

"And the boy is dead now, I presume?" rumbled a large-framed man out of the Kazekage's staff.

It wasn't Tsunade who answered (for which she was a little thankful as she didn't know quite how to. She wasn't about to reveal Naruto's training arrangements to the world). It was

Jiraiya.

"I wouldn't rule that out. I hear that it is possible to survive in Hell. For some amount of time, at least." He had a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Surely a human cannot," an associate of the Mizukage disagreed.

"A jinchuuriki can never be human. Even with the loss of his bijuu," Gaara spoke again. Every Kage present was suddenly reminded that this young man used to be a jinchuuriki—the only one in existence to still be alive after the removal of a demon. This direction of conversation immediately brought attention to the fact that his eyes had not lost their characteristic dark rings, even though he was now able to sleep. He continued through the added interest, "However, I think we are getting off topic. What will we do about this Akatsuki?"

"First things first, I think we should do everything in our power to stop the Akatsuki from getting that last ninja, no matter how late we start," Tsunade began.

"Kumokagure has the fastest ninja," the Raikage spoke out, "I will send my fastest squad and head them off before they reach the bijuu."

"Raw power is what we need!" the Tsuchikage boomed. "We will have to do something about the demon won't we? Send my ninja. I am sure that they can destroy the demon before the Akatsuki can capture it."

"Let's think rationally about this; the Yellow Flash wasn't even able to defeat one. We shouldn't just send our men off on a suicide mission." The Mizukage argued.

Tsunade spoke before anyone else could call out their reasoning, "Each and every one of our villages has its advantages. I will say this again: this is the time for us to work together. We need the help of every village to stay on top of this matter."

"So we'll each send out a squad," the kage of Kirigakure suggested.

"Our most powerful," the Tsuchikage agreed.

"But easily adaptable. We'll need them to get used to working with other village ninja in a short amount of time..."

The meeting lasted for another two hours, though if Tsunade was asked she would have been sure it took half a day. The overall plan of sending out the most capable squad from each village was tweaked and prodded before anyone was satisfied. Where one village leader agreed, another just had to disagree. Often times it seemed as though personal issues were brought into the logic of the plan, making the meeting that much more difficult. Of course no one expected it to be easy; after all, the most powerful and influential figures in the world of shinobi were just thrown into a single room and expected to collaborate.

Not including Gaara, Tsunade was the newest Kage to run in office. Despite her glaring lack of experience she was still the Hokage—the ruler of the village hidden in the leaves—the most powerful shinobi village to date. She could feel her decisions weighing so much more heavily on every matter that came into question.

This sort of pressure was not comforting.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

A lead ball of dread dropped into Harry's stomach the second he walked through the barriers, as the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was once again revealed to him for the first time in almost ten years. It wasn't that he didn't like Hogwarts. In fact, if he thought about it the castle was probably one of his favorite places in the world. The problem was that he didn't leave the wizarding world with the best of feelings and the bitterness only seemed to manifest over the years. Wizards had proven to be fickle and bigots and he could barely tolerate them.

Of course, the fact that he was fifteen at the time and going through the Change didn't help either—that is, his second puberty into demonhood. Demons went through that when they reached their fifties or sixties and it was known as 'the Change'. Humans began puberty in their teens. Anything that was unfortunate enough to be some sort of mixture went through a late human puberty followed shortly by an early demonic Change, finally ending just before he or she hits their twenties. It was a hellish rollercoaster ride emotionally, mentally, and physically and Harry was glad that it was all over for him. Watching it, on the other hand, was a different story. Seeing Naruto hiss and twitch at anything that moves one moment and then curl up and purr the next was endless entertainment for him.

"Holy—!" The blonde besides him nearly screamed as he followed through the wards, "This was your _school_?!"

"Yep," Harry replied, breathing deeply and remembering the fresh grass of the quiddich pitch, "for about five and a half years."

The pair began to walk across the grounds at a leisurely pace to allow Naruto to see everything.

"I thought I wouldn't be able to see it..." the boy wondered, his eyes still glued to the growing fortress. "I mean, only wizards can, right?"

"Demons can see it," Harry informed him. "Since most already have this inborn, natural demonic magic. I mean, you can't do magic like wizards can but you are certainly more aware of things most humans aren't.

"Oh. Okay...what's that?"

Harry followed the pointed finger and almost started at the familiarity of the sight of the round, wooden hut.

"That—that's Hagrid's place," he mumbled, feeling numb. Perhaps it was simply out of habit but his feet unconsciously began taking him towards the half-giant's abode. Naruto changed direction as well.

"Are we going to visit this guy? Who is he?"

"He's the gamekeeper around here. He's half giant and half human, really good guy."

"Cool," Naruto grinned as they arrived at the door. Harry wasted no time in landing a few heavy knocks on the large wooden door before them. Weighty footsteps grew louder before the door was wrenched opened. Naruto was surprised to find this half-giant actually looked like a normal man—besides being about ten feet tall and half as wide. The large man looked like he had seen a ghost the second his beady, black eyes fell on Harry.

"Merlin's Beard! Harry bloody Potter, where the devil have you been?" He roared and scooped the tense wizard up into a painful looking bear hug.

"Oh God—Hagrid, you're killing me!"

"Eh? Oh! Sorry about tha'," He dropped Harry, who made a show of massaging his neck and back before allowing Hagrid to usher him and Naruto into the small cabin.

"Sorry about the mess. If I'da known yeh'd be comin I'd 'ave made something special to eat."

"Not necessary, really," Harry said with an edgy grin. "Naruto and I were just stopping by to do some research. I figured this should be the first place I visited."

"Well, that's real nice o' yeh," The man grumbled, sounding touched. He looked just behind Harry to see Naruto standing quietly, "Hello there."

"Hi," Naruto said, stepping up, "I'm Naruto."

"Oh, I know all about yeh o'course," Hagrid grinned, waving off the introduction with a thick, meaty hand, "Bin reading up on yeh in the Prophet. Can't get a single delivery without some article on one of yeh." He focused his gaze back on Harry, eyes narrowing beneath his dark brow. "Speakin' of which...well, blimey Harry...I mean, I see the bits on yeh in the papers but…I dunno, it just never occurred to me that yeh were really that young lookn'! How old are yeh now again?"

Yet another reason why Harry didn't want to be seen by the wizarding world; he was not aging with the rest of his peers and it was becoming more and more noticeable as the years wore on.

"Twenty five," he deadpanned, ignoring Naruto's shoddily muffled snickers going on behind him.

"I'da never thought," the large man marveled, "You done look—"

"—A day over twenty, yes I get that a lot."

"You know, technically he's still a teenager," Naruto spoke up, his own amusement getting the better of him despite the menacing look he received from Harry, "What, with the demon thing and everything he ages mentally slower too."

"Shut it, you," the raven growled. Hagrid frowned at the pair, though it was hard to tell through the thick, wiry bristle of his beard.

"I never got a chance to talk to yeh about that Harry, with you dissappearin' after you-know-who and then never returning to the wizarding world. That was a right dodgy thing you did, messin around with dark magic like that—"

"It's not dark magic, Hagrid. Blood magic is considered grey," Harry immediately butt in, annoyed. He did not come here to be lectured, especially when the lecturer didn't even know what he was talking about. "And I didn't have much of a choice as it was. Should I have just let myself die in Hell and let Voldemort take over the world?"

Hagrid couldn't find a good enough argument to continue and settled for an acquiescent sigh.

"Fair enough, fair enough."

The conversation had come to a brief halt and Harry quickly took the opportunity to leave.

"Sorry we can't stay and chat; we have to see the headmaster about hanging around for a few days. Is _he_ still Headmaster?"

"O'course he is!" Hagrid bellowed in his usual loyal manner, "It doesn't look like he'll be leaving anytime soon either."

"Are you serious? How old is he now, anyway?" Harry asked and Hagrid shrugged.

"Dunno. I reckon he's gotta be somewhere in his one-sixties by now."

Harry swore and Naruto couldn't tell if it was at the age or because this guy was still the headmaster. A brief good-bye and a promise to visit again later and the pair were soon wandering the halls of the secret magic school. Naruto could not get enough of the place and he had only just seen the hallways. He couldn't see the ceiling without craning his head all the way back and stopped counting the staircases once he got past thirty, and even though he had seen moving and talking pictures before he still wanted have a conversation with every painting on the wall that they passed (which would have been a thousand conversations too many for poor Harry). Naruto assumed that they finally reached their destination when Harry stopped at a stone gargoyle.

"er...lemon drops?" Harry called uncertainly to the stationary figure. "Blood pops? Sugar quills? Cockroach clusters?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Harry shot out through the corner of his mouth in between 'Licorice wands?' and 'Bert's every flavor beans?'

"It looks like you're talking nonsense to a statue."

Harry took the time to smack Naruto upside the head before he answered.

"No, you idiot, I'm trying to guess the password to the Headmaster's office."

"Oh," Naruto said blankly. He looked at the gargoyle that had yet to move, "Milk duds!"

"Naruto, it can't be milk duds. It's not—" the statue had leapt to the side, both revealing the stair passage way to the Headmaster's office and shutting the wizard up.

"—what the hell?! No fair...that's a muggle candy!"

"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto yelled eagerly, not waiting for Harry to snap out of his daze of disbelief before charging up the passageway.

"Huh? Oi! Naruto wait up!"

Harry raced up the stairs as well, hearing Naruto knocking from above. By the time he reached the door Naruto was stepping through the threshold having already been granted access. He followed as well and at once his eyes met a familiar pair of piercing blue. The old man hadn't changed a bit; he still looked frail with his long, thinning white beard and half-moon glasses, still looked eccentric with his bold, fusia wizarding robes and matching, pointed, star-patterned hat. He still held uncountable power within his aura.

"Good afternoon Harry, Naruto."

"Hi," Naruto greeted amiably. He wasn't concerned that this man already knew who he was (most people did these days), and probably even knew what they were there for and why. He had a familiar atmosphere surrounding him, one very much like Inuyasha's—strong, understanding, and knowledgeable. Naruto could tell instinctively that this was a good man and he let himself relax.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry uttered with a much more detached nature. When he left this school there had been many misunderstandings between the two of them, many disagreements. While his intentions were benevolent, this man had tried to use and manipulate him for some skewed notion of the greater good. But he was old, very old, older than other people realized. He had been trying to organize a war that was well past his time and had made several mistakes in the process. Inuyasha spent years trying to get Harry to forgive Dumbledore, and he had, but forgetting was a whole other matter.

"We...we need to do some research in your library. And we would like to stay here for a bit while we do."

Dumbledore smiled and lowered his head so he could peer over his glasses, "certainly. Hogwarts would be delighted to play host to two of our world's most revered young men," Naruto grinned while Harry could only grimace, "Most of the children will be returning to their summer dwellings in one week's time and afterwards you shall have free reign of the school. Before then, however, I can only ask that you do nothing to disrupt their classes. Finals are underway as we speak. Now, I take it you would like unlimited access to the restricted section?"

"If that isn't a problem," Harry said coolly, doing his best not to leave his mind open. He wasn't fool enough to test his Occlumency shields against a master Legilimens, let alone trust Dumbledore to have changed his snooping ways.

"Very well. I shall notify our new librarian of your special status; I am sure that you will find her quite laidback compared to our late Madam Pince. For now it is late, and I believe you both have many hours of grueling research to prepare for. You know where the kitchen is and how to access it—doubtlessly. I also believe it is best to put that come-and-go room to good use while you are here, don't you agree?"

Harry could feel his lip twitch against his self-control and nodded.

"Come-and-go room?" Naruto asked, reminding Harry of his presence. Dumbledore replied right away.

"Yes, it is also known as the room of requirements. It is a magical room that can become whatever the first to enter wishes it to be."

"So...what if I wanted it to be...a whorehouse? Would there be prostitutes in it?"

Harry couldn't help it, laughter ruptured forth and before he knew it he was leaning heavily on the company chair in front of him. Not only was Naruto's unforeseen response comical but the taken aback look on Dumbledore's face was priceless. He couldn't remember that man ever being at a loss for words before. Naruto just had to play his cute and innocent act before shattering it with a statement as crude as that.

The laughing youth looked at Naruto to see what he thought of Dumbledore's expression and was surprised to find the boy frowning. The jinchuuriki was holding Dumbledore's visage with an intense, curious, and almost cautious gaze that he could not remember ever seeing before on his face.

"That was an interesting example. I cannot say that there would be as I have never tried," Dumbledore commented carefully after regaining himself, ignoring his former student's disorderly laughing. Instead he held a politely amused smile on his face that seemed strained at the corners. Harry had a feeling that there was something going on that was completely over his head.

"Yes, well, my last sensei dragged me through a lot of them for a couple of years," Naruto replied with equal civility and was quick to change the subject, "so Harry, think we should check out that kitchen? I'm starving."

"An excellent idea," Dumbledore agreed and with a wave of his wand the door opened. A clear dismissal.

"Uh...yeah...," Harry said and began his exit with his apprentice and companion. Now he knew he was missing something.

"Oh, and Harry," both boys stopped and turned halfway through the door, "it's been rather peaceful these last several years. Try not to stir up any unnecessary trouble. It would be most appreciated."

The wizard gave a mock salute and continued on his way down to the kitchen. Naruto lingered for a moment, catching Dumbledore's steady watch before hastily following Harry down the winding staircase.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Honey, Where are the boys?"

"Hmm...?" Inuyasha looked up from the book he was reading, _American Theocracy_, and saw his wife in the doorway of their bedroom with an armload of laundry.

"You know, Harry and Naruto. It's been awfully quiet these last couple of days and they haven't been around at all."

"Oh," Inuyasha turned back to his book, "I sent them to Hogwarts."

Kagome, who knew this school to be in London, slowly made her way into the room.

"You...sent them to Hogwarts? When?"

"Couple of days ago, I guess. Probably whenever the noise stopped."

"Then may I ask why?" His wife asked, her eye developing an unconscious twitch.

"Surely."

"..."

"..."

"Inuyasha!"

The hanyou laughed deeply and closed the book, not even bothering to dog-ear the page he was on.

"I'm sorry hun, I should have told you. I just sent them to do some research on a couple subjects. The Hogwarts library is pretty extensive, especially that restricted section."

Shaking her head, Kagome dropped the clothes on the bed and began to fold them. "But what are they researching?"

"The dynamics of summoning scrolls. Along with the different attributes of dimensional barriers between universes. Fun stuff."

"You think they'll find information on Naruto's type of summoning at Hogwarts?"

"I wouldn't underestimate that library if I were you. Like I said, it's extensive."

Picking a piece of lint off a sweatshirt Kagome said, "And what's so special about summoning? Are you thinking of signing one of those contracts yourself?"

She was only joking but his brief silence afterward left her slightly unnerved. Inuyasha closed his eyes and simply smiled.

"In some way or another, I guess. Think of it as a project to find a way to get Naruto back to his home."

"Well, in that case, great. Next time just let me know, okay? You know how much I worry about those boys. Especially Naruto. It's probably hard enough on him going through the Change. Do you think it will be a good idea to have him around so many human children?"

"Babe, you make it sound like he's going to eat them."

She threw a pair of Bridget's more risqué underwear at him, which he dodged with a face of horror.

"You know what I mean! Harry had a rough time of it at that age attending that school."

"Naruto's a lot more even tempered than Harry...well maybe not _a lot_, but enough. Don't worry, he has Harry with him for supervision, and the school's probably getting out sometime this week anyway. I haven't noticed him being anymore violent than usual towards other people, have you?"

"No," Kagome agreed, "But still, it's not like you ever see these things coming. I'm just concerned, that's all."

"Well, in that case, I should probably warn you that I'm going to be visiting that shinobi world tomorrow," Inuyasha informed her casually. He saw his wife frown at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes, I do like to know when my husband leaves this plane of existence." Kagome said waspishly, folding up a pair of Caleb's tiny jeans with a bit more verve than necessary. Inuyasha pouted and folded his ears back against his head.

"I love you."

She ignored him and continued her vigorous folding mission. He was always doing this...otherworldly business while not talking to her or Harry or his brother. He spent centuries not confiding in anyone, dealing with the PTB and guardianship with a gate of Hell, but now he had his protégé(s) and _her_. When would he realize it was okay to talk to people and not take on everything himself? The ignoring didn't last long once the grown man crawled onto her pile of freshly laundered and folded clothes and looked up at her with rounded amber eyes.

"Did you hear me? I love you. That's why I do these crazy things, because if Naruto's not happy, you're not happy. And if you're not happy, I'm not happy. So I must go to his world for more scrolls. And to find the golden ram."

Kagome looked down at her husband vacantly. She could not pick an emotion to feel. Disappointment because he does not talk to her as much as he should, anger because he just ruined her laundry job, touched because of the responsibility he takes on for other's benefit, happiness because of how much he loves her, of how much he cares for Naruto, or confusion because she had no idea what the golden ram was about.

"I love you too," she finally decided on bemusedly. "But just talk to me more. Please?"

"'Course," Inuyasha grinned and pulled her down onto the laundry with him.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"This place is the shit!" Naruto hollered, bouncing up and down on his giant four poster bed. He had never slept on a bed this comfortable or eaten such rich and delicious food or even been served on before! Harry had made the room of requirements exactly as he remembered his dorm room to look like except that there were only two gold and red canopy beds. A sizable, marble bathroom was available through a door on the far right wall while the door on the left led to an obstacle course of sorts for training. Needless to say, Naruto was in quite an excitable mood.

"Naruto, calm down," Harry ordered as he sat down on the shaking bed. Between them he threw a collection of pumpkin pastries that the kitchen house elves had pressed upon them after their dinner visit. As he spotted the sweets the blonde bounced onto his butt and grabbed one, stuffing as much as he could into his mouth on the first bite.

"Hmm, the most effective way of shutting you up. It must be great to be so simple," the older of the two said wistfully. With a mouth full of pastry, Naruto could do little more than rude gestures in addition to a furrowed brow and puffed cheeks.

Harry chuckled and grabbed his own dessert. Biting into it brought back a surfeit of Honeyduke memories.

"So what do you think of this place?" He had to wince as he saw Naruto swallow an unhealthy amount of cake before answering.

"Harry, this place is amazing! If the ninja academy was half as cool as this I would have actually attended my classes! Seriously."

"Oh yeah? First thing tomorrow we'll visit the library. I think we should try to stay out of sight as much as possible. I'll bet anything that Dumbledore'll make an announcement at breakfast about us being here, but we shouldn't try and bring about anymore attention than necessary, ya know? So we'll just eat our meals in the kitchen. You remember how to get in, right?"

Naruto nodded, reaching for another pastry.

"Sure. Tickle the pear."

"Right. And if you ever get lost just ask a portrait. But be careful what you say, they like to gossip."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Naruto muttered into his treat while rolling his eyes. Harry was talking to him like he was a little kid.

"By the way..." Harry lingered on the sentence until Naruto finally looked back at him, "what happened in Dumbledore's office? I mean, that whorehouse thing was hilarious but afterward you started to act strange. It seemed kind of awkward."

"Oh that," Naruto said and his shoulders slumped a bit. He now looked much less interested in the last pumpkin pastry lying enticingly between them, "That nosy old man tried to go through my mind using legilimency, I'm sure of it."

"_He what_?" Harry hissed, nearly falling off the bed. His anger seemed so sudden, so sharp, that Naruto was stunned into sitting strait up once more.

"Hey, hey, calm down. It's alright. It wasn't that bad, honestly. Inuyasha does it all the time, remember? I was ready...ish."

But Harry would not calm down. He had thought that after sealing Voldemort into hell at his own expense, after the apocalypse, after seeing everything Harry had gone through done would make him trustworthy enough for Dumbledore to stop his meddling. He thought that he had changed. But apparently it was true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

"No, it's not okay, Naruto," he said while trying to calm himself down. He would _not_ get worked up over this. "That was an invasion of privacy. It's one thing if Inuyasha does it because he's teaching you. But what he just did was...was...immoral. It means he doesn't trust you. And if he doesn't trust you then he doesn't trust me. _Still_."

Naruto's heart swelled for some reason that he couldn't fathom until he realized what Harry had just said: '..._if he doesn't trust you then he doesn't trust me'_. Harry seemed oblivious to the contented expression on the face of the boy across from him. He just raved on.

"I mean, why does it always come down to this? He knows I spend all my time with you. He _knows_ that because he seems to know goddamn everything. It's like anything that's associated with me is a potential threat to whatever the hell he's planning. I'll bet anything that if he had known Inuyasha and I were working together he would have never hired him to work here in the first place..."

"You once told me about this Snape guy..." Naruto interrupted and the sentence was so insanely extraneous for the topic of choice that Harry quieted at once. "...you said that you hated him and that you wouldn't trust him no matter how many times Dumbledore tried to assure you he was trustworthy..."

Harry was already shaking his head again, "No, that was different. Anyone who spent five minutes with Snape would know better than to trust him. He was a backstabbing, greasy Slytherin who would do anything to benefit himself. Come on, no one would think that about you. Everyone thinks you're just the cute, little blonde kid who knows how to kick ass."

Naruto smiled.

"Exactly. But I'm _not_. Especially these days; I'm more likely to smash someone's head through the wall for no apparent reason. You know that because you know me. Just like Dumbledore knew Snape. Don't you see? It doesn't matter that you didn't know Snape or that Dumbledore doesn't know me. No matter what you say in my defense he may never come to trust me. There's not much you can do about that."

"So," Harry said, "So what? In the end all that means is that we can't find it in ourselves to trust each other."

"You may not trust each other," Naruto said slowly, "but that doesn't mean you can't work together. Trust is important—but you both have the same general goals right? You both just want to protect people. You just have different methods and priorities. We should respect that and maybe he'll follow the example."

The temporary room was silent as Harry tried to process this and Naruto eyed the lonely pastry.

"Why—that's not even—s-stop acting like you're more mature than me!" Harry finally said childishly after he couldn't think of anything to say. As if to appease him, Naruto began bouncing around on his pillow, getting all hyped up about where he was, why he was there, and what he was eating. The mood had shifted from grave to chipper as the ninja seemed to radiate positive energy—the mind issue was forgotten for now. Harry laughed and leaned against one of the back bedposts, waiting for him to settle down again.

"Speaking of smashing heads in the walls...how're you doing? I think the red as pretty much stopped growing through your hair. It looks good."

Naruto made a noncommittal shrug and finally reached for that last pastry.

"Alright, I guess. I almost took off Diane's hand the other day when she reached for my report. Sometimes...when I'm surrounded by h-humans,"—it had taken him a long time to refer to them as such, as if he weren't a part of them—"and I can't yet pinpoint individual ones...I just...I don't like it. Their scent and noise kind of suffocate me and I get really on edge. I'm supposed to be a people person here! This does not work for my image!"

Laughing, Harry remembered going through the same thing.

"Oh yeah. Don't worry about that, it will pass once you get better accustomed to your senses. And the irritability around humans lessens as well. I only really get pissed with them when they get too arrogant."

"Yes, they are a pretty annoying race, aren't they?" Naruto smirked and threw his half eaten pastry at Harry's face, smearing it with cream.

"Oi! You punk-ass bitch—!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

I am baaaaaaaaaaaack! Yay! Sweet, sweet internet access for ever and ever!! I am so, so sorry for such a long wait. I know I'm a jerkface and whatnot. Thank you all for all your encouraging reviews and PMs throughout this, I'm so glad I haven't lost all my readers because of the horrifically late update.

Holy oreos, 500 reviews even!?

Notes:

-Gamakichi was so big because of a picture I saw from Weekly Shonen Jump. It shows Naruto sitting on his head.

-I'm not trying to make Dumbledore an asshole or anything, just adding some substance (yay, HP7!!)

--big plans for summoning scrolls!!!

Next time we'll have some fun Hogwarts chaos with the boys, summoning info, and some Konoha time.

Check out my deviantart gallery (homepage in my profile) for a cute doodle I did for Troika. The horrors of being a Sex Icon. It's kind of hard to miss. As you can see, living on an island begins to wear on one's sanity.


	15. Research without Reason

**Chapter 15**

Harry had to blink several times to be sure that he was not hallucinating. The man was much taller than he remembered, more lines around the mouth and eyes, and his silver-blonde hair was already pulling at the temples, but there was no mistaking it—Draco fucking Malfoy was standing right in front of him.

His childhood rival.

Wearing the robes of a Hogwart's professor.

Oh sweet Merlin's cherry-printed boxer shorts.

He hadn't even been there twenty four hours—hell, they hadn't even begun their research yet as they had just left the kitchens—and the very first person they bump into on a Tuesday morning had to be this guy. He could guess that Malfoy was most likely mirroring his expression—one of disbelieving shock and horror.

Naruto stood between the two men, not understanding why the hall suddenly seemed to crackle with tension. He could sense distaste rising within both men as the two stared each other down with contempt.

"You—," Harry was the first to gasp out, "you're still alive?!?!"

He had, in all honestly, believed the entire Malfoy clan had been wiped out during the almost-apocalypse. To see the youngest suddenly standing before him sent an unpleasant shock through his system. What next, were the Dursley's alive too?

The alarm on the other man's face immediately melted back onto a familiar scowl.

"Sod off Potter!"

"Professor!" A small first or second year that was passing by looked aghast at her teacher's language. Another Hermione Granger in the making.

"Back to class, Miss Nicholson." Malfoy barked without even looking at her. He kept his gaze solely on Harry, unwavering and resentful.

"_Professor_, Malfoy?" Harry couldn't stop himself from mocking, "a little lowly for someone of your stature, don't you think?"

"What stature?" Malfoy hissed and his face flushed with color. "The Malfoy name means next to nothing after the fall of the Dark Lord and that demon fiasco."

Harry's eyebrows rose, both at the man's misfortune and his admittance to it. It appeared that the Malfoy fortune must have taken an irrecoverable blow from the war; the once heir now had no choice but to rebuild his wealth all over again, starting with teaching.

"Seems a little humility did you some good."

"I'm warning you Potter," Malfoy growled, his hand already gripping his hawthorn wand with undue rigidity.

"Warning me of what? I haven't done anything yet," it was like some younger mentality of his past had taken over, wanting to goad Malfoy into doing something he might regret as the boys had done to each other so many times in their youth.

As the pressure thickened in the air Naruto felt something stir within him. Something completely unfamiliar but, at the same time, it seemed natural. His blood felt hot and a misplaced emotion of some kind began to gain control of his mind. It wasn't quite anger; it was something closer to excitement, perhaps even anticipation...

Students began their slow trickle of leaving their classes, and in doing so filling the already stressed corridor with buzzing and stares. The scent of humans was suddenly overpowering to Naruto, their constant yakking and blabbering mushed and mingled into a single cloudy drone that irritated his ears. He could feel his blood pounding against his head in a steady rhythm, each beat telling him to kill, slit, gouge.

He closed his eyes, hoping if he didn't see the children milling around he wouldn't feel the need to bathe the floors with their blood. Big mistake. Taking away one sense only seemed to enhance the others. The irritating sting of a girl's perfume, the phlegmy hack of a young boy coughing...he was seriously going to loose it.

"Harry," he mumbled quietly out of the corner of his mouth. Even speaking made him aware that his already long canines experienced a slight growth. His chest felt like it was shaking.

"Yes Naruto?" the raven replied, in an equally low voice. His eyes were locked on the cold, grey ones across from him, determined not to break the stare first. Perhaps if he wasn't so caught up in reminiscence he would have sensed the increase of youki besides him.

"I have this insane urge to kill everyone within thirty feet. That's not good, is it?"

This caught Harry's attention and he was stunned to see the blonde trembling against his instincts. Indeed, there was a much more feral look to him with his deepened facial markings and it was only a matter of time before the twitching knuckles of his hands lashed out with unforeseen consequences. Harry sighed, knowing it was his own fault for creating such an atmosphere around the delicate youth.

"No, Naruto it's not. We should leave."

"I agree." Naruto forced out through gritted teeth.

"Forget this," Harry said a little louder so that Malfoy could hear. The two turned on the spot and left, ignoring the whispers and points that their celebrity status dragged in. The second they turned a corner into a quiet and empty corridor Naruto heaved a great sigh and allowed his shoulders to sag with relief.

"You all right?" Harry asked with an unruffled approach.

Naruto nodded, his head had been cleared the minute he was taken away from all those people.

"Good. Sorry about all that but I can't believe he's fucking here! I seriously thought he was dead!" Harry tried not to work himself up again lest he agitated Naruto's Change further but he couldn't help but scoff at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Um, Harry...," Naruto ventured as his senses went off once again, though for an entirely different reason.

"And I can't believe Dumbledore hired him. He shouldn't even be allowed to educate children—he was a midget death eater!"

"Harry."

"Then again, it wouldn't be the first time since Snape—"

"_Harry._"

"What Naruto?"

"I don't think that guy was the only one Dumbledore hired since you left."

And two things were suddenly thrown into to former Hogwarts student's attention: one, they were standing in the doorway of the library and, two, the unmistakable scent of a demon exuded from it.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

It was not unusual to find a mismatched group of three jounin and eight chuunin congregating around the likes of Konoha. Today they could be witnessed lounging on the Yamanaka porch, sipping glasses of iced lemonade and enjoying the warmth of the June sun. The smell of flowers was overpowering, and the lounging teens seemed to spend more time swatting away at bees that drifted over to their sugary drinks than anything else.

Scrunched down on one end of a swinging bench, Sakura scowled down into her glass of lemonade as if the high fructose corn syrup mixture were responsible for her sedentary position.

"Oh knock it off Sakura, it was probably for the best anyway," Ino groused, noticing her friend's irritable demeanor from her end of the swaying furniture. Sakura's ill mood had worn on her ever since the chosen team for the Akatsuki hunt was dispatched.

"Come on Ino, doesn't it bother you a little that despite our experience in dealing with the Akatsuki they completely bypassed us?" she stated for what felt like the fifth time after flicking some growing pink tresses over her shoulder. It wasn't nearly as long as Ino's (who's was almost down to her butt) and she didn't think she ever wanted it to be, but she had gotten in the habit of keeping it up most days.

"Normally, yes," the blonde admitted, "but this is every surviving member they're dealing with. All at once? I don't think so."

"Ino's right, Sakura," Sasuke spoke from one of the porch steps, "you need to learn how to choose your battles. The chances of any of us going in there and surviving are non existent."

Sakura rubbed her temples, knowing she was outmatched by everyone. "But why send ninja's with less qualifications?"

"Because," Shikamaru drawled in his usual fashion, "they know it's a hopeless battle. This isn't a mission that they plan on completing; it's more of a tactic to delay the inevitable."

"That's horrible," Hinata breathed, her palms wet from the condensation of her glass. Her cousin seemed unaffected by the insinuations.

"Tsunade-sama isn't one to through away lives needlessly. It's obvious that we will be of better use later on."

Shino adjusted his hood and murmured, "If the Akatsuki succeed in their plan to control the ninja economy the Konoha will need all its best fighters."

"That'll be us!" Kiba crowed with Akamaru adding his own deep bark. "You all need to lighten up, Akatsuki can collect as many demons as they want, we'll still take them out!"

"Your arrogance will get you killed," his teammate muttered which sent Kiba growling at the bug wielder.

"Are any of you taking the jounin exams coming up?" Lee asked while casually switching that topic. He had passed the exam a mere six months ago along with Shino and, surprisingly enough, Hinata. Unfortunately, his teammate, Tenten, didn't quite make it and was a bit sulky for some time later.

"Hell yes, I am," the aforementioned brunette declared with a determined fire in her eyes. Even she had to admit that some of her teammate's incorrigible behavior had rubbed off on her.

"Are you going to do it this time Sakura?" Hinata asked. The last time she had refused, opting to sit out and watch her friends attempt their hand at the challenge with the hopes that she could later take it with Naruto when he returned.

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed, "I just feel bad taking it without Naruto. I mean, he isn't even a chuunin yet. I don't want him to feel discouraged if he gets back and most of us are jounin, it was hard enough on him when we all made chuunin without him."

"Come on, Naruto's made of stronger stuff than that," Chouji argued good naturedly.

"Yeah, and he's getting even more special training. He was strong before when he came back with Jiraiya-sama, who knows how strong he'll be this time," Ino said with a touch of envy.

_'You don't know the half of it,'_ the rosette thought wryly. If they thought the sannin were powerful, they should have met that Inuyasha character.

"You'll need to have your head on strait for this Sakura-san," Lee advised his once-crush, "Those jounin exams are no joke. They're way tougher than the chuunin exams were. Besides, Naruto-kun wouldn't want you holding yourself back for his sake, especially when we're on the brink of war."

That, if anything, helped her make up her mind, "You're right."

She was seventeen years old now and she knew she had long since had the power and capabilities to match just about any jounin in the leaf village.

Hinata smiled simply and said with assurance, "He'll be back soon."

"Probably not for another year," Shikamaru mumbled, "...that was the plan anyway."

They should have known by then that when it came to Naruto rarely anything went according to plan.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"I can't believe he hired a demoness. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but it is a bit out of character for him," Harry said to Naruto across the round table as he studied the woman bustling about the library. She looked like an average woman—mid twenties and a sleek build with mousy brown hair and grey eyes. It was a very convincing illusion. Speaking to her before the boys began their research left Harry with the knowledge that her name was Jolene, but the children called her Miss Valin. She was a young, first class lemur demon who just managed to transfer into the human world after years of trying to leave Hell. The librarian job at the magic school was her first human occupation ever.

"Maybe he's trying to promote human-demon relations," he continued to the blonde who wasn't even listening to him, "Yeah, that's gotta be it..."

"I can't believe a school for wizards has this much information on things that have nothing to do with wizards," Naruto moaned, falling forwards into the substantial pile of books before him. The librarian seemed more than happy to help them find any and all information on the different dimensions of Earth. "Man, we're never going to get through all these."

"Stop complaining and use your damn clones then." Harry snapped at him. Naruto blushed and scowled.

"That's what I was going to do," he said lamely, quickly creating a few clones and setting them to task on different books. He cracked one open himself when three more books were placed on the table. The librarian stood next to them, fidgeting nervously and acting every bit as timid as she looked.

"These are the last of what I could find Mr. Potter," she squeaked, her face already beginning to darken despite her best efforts to stay calm.

"That's fine; this is plenty, thank you Jolene."

The woman seemed to have a mini heart attack at Harry remembering her name and quickly walked away.

"She seems to like you," Naruto commented with a wolfish grin. If he was lucky something would happen between them within the week and then he would have great blackmail material for Bridget.

"Shut up and read. She's nervous because she knows I'm a guardian."

Naruto blinked. He hadn't even thought of that possibility. Of course if a demon had just gotten the papers to live among humans they would be jumpy around anyone who had the power to send them back. In fact, Naruto never really acknowledged that Harry was a guardian of Hell before. Of course he _knew_—how could he not when that was the reason he was in the world in the first place?—but there was nothing extraordinary about the man that he hung out with everyday that would make him think he was in such a position of power.

The pair spent hours on end reading and taking notes with few incidents...if you don't count that one time when Naruto opened a book that shot out spitballs everywhere for five minutes strait. The boy had created a rotating system with his clones, alternately creating and dispelling them so he could intake information a little at a time without overloading his brain.

"Hey, what's up with these _unforgivables_?" the real Naruto asked out of seemingly nowhere. Harry looked up from the dusty tome on his lap to see Naruto absorbed in a book that definitely was not placed on their table.

"...I mean, I get the killing curse, that's simple enough, but the c-cruciatus? Or imperious? Does that really take away your free will?"

"More or less," Harry answered, "It leaves the castor in complete control of whomever they're using the spell on."

"I think the Yamanaka clan can do something like that," Naruto mused to himself.

"The cruciatus curse is designed to attack your nerves, and trick your body into thinking its being tortured," Harry continued.

"What do you mean by trick?"

"I mean nothing is actually happening to your body; it's all in your head. But don't think that makes it able to be broken off. This isn't legilimency; you can't use Occlumency to protect yourself from it. In fact, it can even drive you insane after a certain amount of time."

Harry stopped talking at that moment because there was a look gracing the young jinchuuriki's features that he both feared and pondered. The same look of comprehension that Inuyasha got when he was developing some insane scheme—like the one he got right before he sent there here. There was no way in _hell_ Naruto could be picking up _that_ habit.

"Can you do it?" Naruto's voice snapped him back to reality.

"What?"

"The cruciatus curse, can you do it?"

"Um...well I used it once a long time ago, but I was pretty young…I didn't have that kind of hate to pull it off properly. But...I suppose I wouldn't have too much trouble now. As long as I held some sort of contempt for the receiver."

"Oh," Naruto said and it disturbed Harry greatly to hear that one syllable laced with disappointment.

"Naruto, you're not even supposed to be reading that," he said and banished the book with a wave of his hand. It sailed over an entire shelf and must have struck some unfortunate child judging by the thud and cry of pain.

"I know, it just looked cool," he mumbled and sheepishly took another book. His eyes skimmed the contents but his mind was elsewhere. His healing ability was on par with Inuyasha's at this point; the Kyuubi's chakra had been absorbed into his own to the point he could probably take a kunai to the head and walk away minutes later. But he felt it was the mental aspect that was holding him back; how much abuse could his body take before shutting down into unconsciousness? Not to say that his pain tolerance was anything to scoff at—on the contrary, one of his signature tactics is taking blows first, intimidating his opponent with his apparent invincibility, and then attacking.

A part of him had deliberated (hoped, even) the benefits of building up his pain tolerance by way of the cruciatus curse. But Harry's words had nipped that train of thought in the bud—plus he severely doubted he could convince Harry to perform it on him anyway. A short contemplation of using his clones to cast it on himself flitted by before he remembered that he couldn't even do magic.

He shook his head clear, both scolding himself for not focusing on the task at hand and in disbelief that he was actually considering _torturing_ himself for training. Sometimes he really had to wonder at the lengths he would go to push himself to the next level.

Nevertheless, the suggestion was not wiped from his psyche entirely should one day he meet a wizard who loathed him enough to cast it.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Inuyasha tried to ignore the eyes peering out at him through the shelves, he really did. The shrine in the Land of Moon was noted to be one of the most broad and informative libraries in the Shinobi world, brimming with forbidden techniques and long-lost legends. And that it was, as he had found all he could ever hope to work with in less than two days. The shelves stretched across the gnarled, wood floor for at least an acre while reaching several meters high and though the shrine on a whole was dimly lit the torches lining the wall gave it a comforting atmosphere on the whole.

Unfortunately it was still a shrine.

This meant monks.

This meant, despite sporting his human guise, suspicion.

Hence the ogling.

"Will you relax," he bit out annoyed, "I'll be out of here in an hour, shit."

The monk 'harrumphed' and moved down to another, but still near, isle.

Rolling his eyes, the half-demon continued skimming through the book on his lap, muttering aloud as he was often apt to do.

"The first contract for summoning was established over four hundred years ago...It was an accident?...cool...summon binds—essence?—to documented contract using seals...bla bla bla...hmmm...though body is pulled into the summoner's region it is not fully corporal—needs substantial energy to hold form in summoned world...So they're not really _in_ that world, they're still in their original land...that could be problematic..."

The dog hanyou snapped the book shut loudly, making two nearby readers jump and glare at him. Giving his neck a good crack and brushing some dust of his pants Inuyasha made his way out of the shrine and into the forest to find a good secluded spot to travel backwards into Hell, his head now brimming with designs and information. He didn't understand all of the seals involved with the original layout of a summoning scroll but he could bet that Naruto did and that was enough. Unfortunately he didn't have time to stop by Konoha this time around (but how he wished he could have some more of that ramen!); in fact he didn't have time in general. Naruto's progress and power were great, but he still had a long way to go and time was not on their side.

He knew this because the very air settling over the lands of shinobi spoke of ill foreboding.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

The end of June was proving to be hot. The poor students of Hogwarts were bent over their final exam sheets picking at their sticky robes and wiping the sweat from their temples that wasn't brought nerves. The flowers coating the outer rink of the lake drooped under the heat and even the giant squid chose to stay completely submerged.

But most of all, it was hot for Naruto.

"Harry, I'm _dying_."

Green eyes glinted with annoyance through tinted lenses. Their research was coming to an end, having attained multitudes of scrappy notes and diagrams, enough to aid Inuyasha with his latest scheme at any rate. The only thing slowing them down was Naruto's poor attention span. This very moment the young jinchuuriki was half sprawled over scattered papers and opened books, his eyes closed and a cute pout on his lips—A pout that Harry had grown unsympathetic towards.

"We're almost done here, you can hold out a little longer. Finish up writing about body component and time limits and we can stop."

"Can't go on...can't go on..."

Harry dropped his quill, "Alright, fine, we'll break from this. What do you want to do?"

"Let's train!"

"Naruto, training will make us even hotter."

"Not if we train on the water..." Naruto hummed with the age old shit-eating grin.

Looking at the wizard's face told him that Harry wanted to do it deep down. "Eh, the kids are all taking their tests right now...we were asked not to disturb them."

Even as he said it he was rising from his chair with a crooked grin.

"Who cares, they're all inside," Naruto said cheerfully, standing as well, "Let's do it."

"Do what, exactly?"

Their shoulders tensed as a large shadow—far larger than any man could produce—wafted over their working corner. How could they have been distracted enough not to sense a presence that large until it was directly upon them. How could they have not _smelled_ it?

"Um..." Naruto started, his eyes darting around the library for any good excuse.

"We were just going to get some exercise in," Harry said to the half-giant nonchalantly.

"No way, not on my watch yeh arn't. Dumbledore specifically said that you was not teh cause any disturbances during the testin," Hagrid rumbled while holding them with a chary eye.

"Oh come on, Hagrid," Naruto laughed carelessly, "we won't be distracting anyone..."

Through a silent mental understanding gained only from fighting hordes of demons together the two boys simultaneously zipped around the wide body that was blocking the doorway to freedom. Unfortunately they severely underestimated Hagrid's experience with misbehaving kids. Two comical squawks erupted from their throats as the backs of their shirts were each seized in a sweaty, meaty hand and held at shoulder height to the half-breed.

"Oh, I know all abou' your _trainin_," Hagrid spat the word out good naturedly, "Dumbledore's orders come firs' or you two'll be in a right bit o' trouble."

"Damn, you're fast," Naruto mumbled, sharing a surprised look with Harry. He still wasn't quite sure how he got into this position, swinging several inches off the floor with his shirt-turned-halter straining at the seams. The absurdity of it all left him blinking owlishly at his partner-in-crime, who looked quite disgruntled at being man-handled as such.

Harry focused in on Naruto's eyes, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"You're the one that's going to get in trouble for this. You know that, right?" he said mischievously.

Hagrid looked completely bewildered at Harry's casual claim, "Fer wha'? Stoppin yeh?"

"No," Harry held Naruto's gaze, receiving the boy's complying smirk before declaring, "for stripping us!"

Simultaneously, both demon hunters threw their arms in the air, their bodies slipping from their shirts so that Hagrid was left holding only a piece of cloth in each giant fist.

"What the—Oi!" he yelled as he saw the two shirtless men scampering out of the library towards their lakeside destination, their guffaws ringing loud throughout halls. He wasted no time in tossing the shirts aside and pursuing the rogue miscreants. It was then that no less than seven girls flew from the shelves, squealing and shrieking, and pig-piled on the recently shed clothing.

Naruto and Harry bounded down the stairs and stumbled around corners, laughing all the way. Despite the ongoing testing there were still plenty of people around the hallways to notice the fleshy blurs with complete shock.

"Well now we're being disruptive!" Naruto yelled as he slid down a banister, landed between two fourth-year girls, and sped off with a wink. Their giggles followed him into the next floor.

"This is totally your fault," Harry huffed but even he couldn't deny that running through his old school half naked with a raging half-giant behind him was _fun_.

The double doors to the outside, and consequently the lake, were just ahead. Freedom was once again delayed as a wastebasket came sailing out of seemingly nowhere and crashed just below their feet. The boys easily dodged bits of trash, not bothering to slow down in their expedition. Peeves, the offender, flew overhead, not in the least bit put off by their nimble evasion.

"Ooooh! Potter and Blondie are giving their fans a peepshow!" the poltergeist cackled as he floated along above them upside down.

"Bugger off Peeves." Harry said while making a futile swap at his bobbing head.

Peeves just cackled some more and veered off down another hallway

"Nakey, nakey, where's the snaky?" he shouted as he departed.

Naruto stumbled, doing a double take at where the translucent being had left them.

"What did he just—?!"

"Just keep running," Harry said as he blew through the doors. Hagrid had to have been light-years behind them at this point. He may have had surprisingly fast reflexes, but his speed would never compare to Harry and Naruto's. It wasn't long before the two of them had crossed the grassy hills and reached the lake side. Neither boy stopped until they were several meters over top the lake, hopping around comically on one foot or the other as they pulled off their shoes and threw them to the shore. The cold water felt great on the bottom of their feet, ripples finally decorated the once glassy face, accomplishing what the windless day could not.

Laughing, Naruto continued running, not across, but up. Each step was closer to hoping up a flight of stairs, a cloudy residue clung to the souls of his feet giving evidence to how much sheer chakra and wind manipulation he was putting into such a feat. He had nearly grasped the capacity to propel himself forwards but the opportunity kept slipping through his fingers. With the amount of chakra it took to hold his weight combined with keeping a meditative stance to compact and direct the wind flow, the chakra control to power the direction was virtually out of his reach.

"Not too high, Naruto," Harry warned absently, the words coming out of habit more that anything. Yet every time Naruto went higher.

"You worry too much," was Naruto's automatic reply as he took another hasty leap upwards, now reaching forty feet in the air. Harry sighed at his flippancy. He's a teenage demon, he must remember that.

"Come on down here, I thought you wanted to spar..."

"Yeah, that and I had to get out of the library."

He flailed around a bit as he almost lost his footing and he was quick to reinforce his chakra to gain control once more. Harry laughed at his slip up.

"Couldn't hand?"

"I meant that girl."

"Girl—?" Harry started, thinking back to any specific female that Naruto had to get away from. They had done a pretty decent job of staying out of harm's way (i.e. avoiding fangirls) having spent nearly all their time hidden in the library. The only girl around there was—

"Oh, HO! Hahahaha! Couldn't take the pheromones huh?"

Mating season had begun.

Naruto sneered and leapt fifty feet down on him, beginning a harmless scrapple atop the lake, the two boys clad only in their shorts by now. It was fortunate that all the females, and males for that matter, were locked away in the school grueling over aberrant tests. If they had looked out the window they would have lost all concentration at seeing the half-naked icons wrestling, their skin shining bronze in the sun and slick with sweat and water.

"Ugh, she was on the other side of the room and I could smell her in heat," Naruto growled, poised on all fours before tackling the older, "it was like she was targeting me or something with her stupid, wily pheromones from Hell!"

Recalling that he could sense the sexual frustration around him, Harry could only laugh harder, a weakness that got him a knee to the face.

"Kit, she _was_ targeting you. You're the closest available demon, and believe it or not you reek of power—to a demon that is. Plus she's terrified of me and you're the next best option."

Naruto blocked a quick punch and drew back.

"Wait, how come I'm second? How do you know I wasn't the first option, huh?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Come on, now, let's be honest with ourselves..."

Naruto shared that grin, crouching down again in his most natural taijutsu stance, "Oh I'll be honest with you. I'm honestly going to kick your ass! Then we'll see whose second best."

"Always happy to put you in your place runt."

"I'm practically the same height as you, asshole!"

The two leapt at the same time, meeting in mid-air and crashing onto the cool surface of the lake, their scrapple not hindered in the slightest as they fell into their familiar 'kitten fight'. How they always ended up on the ground when they fought...the world may never know.

Their 'spar' lasted exactly one minute and thirteen seconds before the giant squid surfaced and broke them up Hagrid style: by lifting each one (with a tentacle) with the most available scrap of clothing—and it was far less comfortable than hanging by their shirts.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"YOU'RE BACK!"

Harry barely got through the front door of Inuyasha's house before he was barreled backwards by a black-haired blur and two slender arms wrapped around his waist. Loose curls that strayed from a long ponytail tickled the underside of his chin as Inuyasha's daughter nestled her face in his chest. Harry absently wondered when her head was able come up to his chin.

"Hey Biddy..." he said easily, trying to act and feel like he did not just have such a ridiculous thought.

"Hey Naruto, it's great to see you too," Naruto said sarcastically as he squeezed past the pair and into the kitchen. He set the stack of notes he was carrying on the kitchen table as Bridget detached herself from Harry.

"Inu! We have your information!" Naruto yelled upwards, not knowing where the guy was in actuality.

"You don't have to yell, you know."

Naruto jumped and turned to see the very man in question standing right behind him, cool as a cucumber. The blonde hadn't sensed his presence before he spoke, but as soon as his voice reached his ears it flared, confirming his company. Could Inuyasha somehow suppress his aura? Or was there a trick to it?

"Wh—how? When do you do that?" Naruto stuttered, blinking owlishly. It wasn't the first time, of course, but it still boggled him to no end that Inuyasha could appear with more subtly than any ninja could.

"To the office," Inuyasha said without responding to the question, "but not you Bridget—"

"Yeah, yeah, I figured as much..." she mumbled and stalked off to her room. The boys were quick to settle down in the office, notes and all. Inuyasha ruffled through what his apprentices collected, skimming over the details and settling his own conclusions.

The boys waited patiently in their chairs while he thought. After another minute of silence Inuyasha placed the notes in his hands down and looked Harry and Naruto each in the eye.

"Okay, from what I've gathered there are three principle aspects we need to cover to make this work."

"Do what? Make what work?!" Harry exclaimed with exasperation, "You're not telling us!"

Inuyasha ignored him and began counting off on his fingers, "The first is consent, the second is seals, and the third is time."

It was like someone turned on the switch in the back of their minds at the mention of seals.

"Wait a minute..." Harry ventured, "All this research on summoning scrolls and other worlds...you aren't thinking of creating one yourself are you?"

With an agreeable smile, Inuyasha corrected him, "Ourselves."

"Oh, oh!" Naruto bounced around excitedly like he knew the answer, "Are you making a summoning scroll for demons?"

Harry looked mildly surprised, though he didn't quite feel it. To attach a summoning scroll to Hell would be an accomplishment in itself, but not impossible. Of course, being able to summon a demon would be all fine and dandy, but getting them to obey you, to fight for you, would be like Sesshomaru initiating a hug. Surely Inuyasha knew that.

"Not quite," the hanyou drew out, "I'm making a summoning scroll for us!"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

-sigh-

Incase you couldn't tell from this chapter, I am totally one some kind of drugs...

I so could have had this posted days ago, but my stupid school lost the internet for the ENTIRE weekend...and then some! What the hell kind of college does that? WE NEED IT FOR CLASSES! And then I spent the rest of my free time having not-free-time, a.k.a., homework (why, oh, why did I have to pick such an intense major?!?!). Woe is me.

Ahem, ANYWAY, thank you all for your patience and reviews, you guys make me smile a super lot.

I know its tiring that Naruto hasn't returned yet but he will! Sooner than he expected to at least. But the return might not happen until around chapter twenty. (Sorry! I've got a plot to write)

Yes, I do keep up with the magna (what kind of Naruto fan do you think I am, people?!) so I'll have to incorporate his parentage and all that somehow later on.

Again, thank you for reviewing and let me know what cha think! XD


	16. Strong and Weak

**Chapter 16**

"Uh," Naruto grinned uneasily, "I don't get it."

Harry bit his lip, trying to make sense of what he was hearing, "Are you trying to say that we're going to _summon ourselves_?"

"Yes."

"Right," he said with finality, "No more drugs for you. I'm getting Kagome."

"Sit down," Inuyasha laughed, pulling Harry back into his chair when the man made to leave, "let me explain everything. When I first thought of this, it was just a way to get Naruto back to his world."

The blonde seemed to perk up at this and he actually managed to focus all of his attention on Inuyasha.

"Using our gate to travel from this world into Hell is a cinch, right?" and Harry nodded hesitantly, "but I'm sure you've realized by now that opening your gate to any other overlapping world is anything but," after another nod Inuyasha said, "it's not impossible, it just takes extreme control. Managing this is harder than one would think—I can't cross worlds as easily as I can between this one and Hell, especially with cargo so..."

"So you're going to go to my world and summon me there?" Naruto said breathlessly, catching on.

"Bingo," Inuyasha ginned with a wink. Harry couldn't seem to keep the smile off of his face either as he looked between his two pleased companions. After all this time...they had been afraid that they would never find a way to return Naruto to his village...but still...

"There's going to be a lot of work involved isn't there?" Harry asked wearily, "I mean creating a summoning scroll from scratch can't be easy..."

"Far from it," Inuyasha said, "which takes us back to the three main points I mentioned earlier."

"Consent..." Naruto incited. Inuyasha nodded towards him.

"Yes, the first thing we need to do to start a contract is to have the consent of both the summoner and the summon and apply the appropriate seals. Of course, getting the consent should be easy since we _are_ the summoners and the summons."

"And the next part...?" Harry prompted.

"The second part is attaching the being to the scroll with seals. Basically, we need to connect our souls to the scroll. When our soul is being summoned our body must be transported as well by way of another complicated seal matter. Naruto, I'm really leaning on you for this."

Naruto's whiskers twitched as his lips formed a cocky smirk and he gave a mock salute. Shaking his head at the cheek Inuyasha continued with the last aspect.

"The third and final part is the allotted time allowed. This is where I feel the real problem is. A summon is not fully attached to the world they are transported to, meaning, as soon as they run out of energy or are hurt too badly they'll be forcefully pulled back into their place of origin. Also, a summon can be killed, and once it is killed in one world it cannot return to the other. It's dead."

Naruto frowned, "So you think that if I get hurt to bad I'll end up back here?"

That would prove to be greatly problematic for him—especially if he was going to be fighting bijuus. He knew he would get hurt; hell he'd probably get hurt worse than he'd ever been hurt before considering his opponents. He couldn't afford to be pulled away in the middle of a battle, especially if there were others around left in danger...

Inuyasha's response both surprised and relived him.

"Actually no, its not you I'm worried about. The shinobi world was where you were born into so you are already bound to it in spirit. Your chakra is connected to that world in a way that is completely unbreakable. It's Harry that's the problem."

Harry jolted at this, his eyebrows quirked.

"What the hell? Why am I the problem? It's not like I'll be living there or anything...right? Right? Inuyasha..._right?_ Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha ignored him—mostly for his own amusement—and spoke on, "So I think we need to modify the seals. Not to mention I think we should give it our own little flair...you know, grant it some sort of AI that allows it to pick and choose who can sign it; just incase it falls into the wrong hands..."

"And how are we going to do that," Harry asked callously, his voice still untrusting after Inuyasha's hanging omen of him living in the shinobi world.

Inuyasha rested an elbow on his knee and leaned forward to he set his chin in his palm.

"I think a little blood magic should make this run smoothly."

Harry and Naruto shared his grin.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The carnage could be seen for miles and, at an even greater distance, smelled. The acrid sent of charred flesh and blood lingered heavily in the air; anyone who happened upon the great plain in lightning country would have seen nothing but gore and limbs, charcoal and craters.

The news of the twenty-four elite shinobi that bravely fought the Akatsuki organization had spread to the head of every major village: every last one of them had died. And of the seven Akatsuki members, only was destroyed. Deidara. Such a devastating blow—not only the loss of those shinobi and the failure of the mission, but also the Akatsuki capturing the last bijuu—left the Kages in a state of distress and depression. Their attitudes could not be veiled for the seriousness of the matter and soon despair spread throughout the villages; many not even understanding why the world suddenly seemed overcast with the threat ruin.

One man, however, did not seem affected by this widespread epidemic of melancholy insight. In fact, the unique smile he wore stretched across his face seemed to indicate that he was feeling wonderful. It was the smile of a man who had just acquired the means to a dream, a smile that could taste victory inches from his lips.

Pein's grey eyes glittered as they took in the sight of the last bijuu being sucked into the statue. Every eye was open; seven stared back with pupils, the last was slowly loosing its blank stare and filling with life. The center eye with the crack through the middle appeared to be crusted into the statue—dormant by way of complicated seal work. Pein and his partner, Konan, had spent many days altering the dynamics of their prized container. They had finally managed a stable enough casing that eradicated the need for the ninth eye. Hopefully the statue would accept all the functioning eyes as adequate completion.

He knew his moment had come as the last of the Rokubi's essence was pulled into the mouth of the gargantuan sculpture. After days of standing on a statuesque finger, after months of frantically trying to mend their container, after years of searching and hunting down bijuu, there was no more welcome sign than the eight, glowing, sighted eyes staring outwards. It had worked, it was complete.

A shockwave was sent out—one born from the glowing effigy. It traveled faster than sound would allow, rippling through rivers and mountains alike. China rattled on nobles' mantles, the ground trembled beneath civilian feet, and a blonde woman shot up from her desk as her sake bottle crashed to the floor, a piece of important document still clinging to her cheek.

But all this was unknown to Pein as his smile widened to the point where it bordered maniacal.

It was show time.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Kagome glanced out the small kitchen window perched above the sink as she idly wiped down a pan with a dishtowel. Inuyasha was using the last of that afternoon to complete Naruto's Occlumency training. The two were comfortably sprawled out on the backyard lawn, chatting away and preparing their mental shields.

"I still can't believe Inuyasha came up with that..." Kagome mused as she eyed the two men. She was, of course, speaking of the summoning scroll the boys were working on developing. It still amazed her to this day that he could think of such a bold and fatuous arrangement and actually have the state of mind to act on it.

Harry, who had nothing better to do than sit on the counter and watch Kagome clean, shrugged and opened a diet coke with a fresh sounding crack.

"Inuyasha has always been a revolutionary."

"Hn," Kagome sighed with her bottom lip between caught her teeth, "I only wish I could have been around to see it more."

Harry said nothing, not knowing what he could possibly say. Even after years of being married to her mate it was obvious that Kagome still felt guilty for not staying by Inuyasha's side when she was younger. She had missed out on him for five years. He had grown without her for nearly five hundred.

Any awkward atmosphere that may have begun to settle was stirred away once the kitchen door leading to the garage was kicked open with a loud bang, causing Kagome to shriek and drop the pan in the sink, wetting it again, and for Harry to nearly drop his full can of diet coke. Luckily he did not, for heads would have rolled.

"I am free!" Bridget cried as she threw her satchel full of school books, quills and inks across the tiled floor.

"Bridget," Kagome said warningly, still clutching a hand to her chest, "Don't do that!"

Bridget's spirits would not be brought down.

"I'm done with school! One more year left and I'll be done forever! Oh, how I love summer!" she spun around a couple of times; receiving very perplexed looks from Harry and Kagome. When she finally stopped she became fully responsive to Harry's presence.

"Oh, Harry darling, have you seen this yet?" she asked, her face breaking out into a sly grin as she pulled something out of her robe's pocket. In her hand was a crinkled cut-out from the Bewitched Kibitz. That alone immediately sent off warning bells in her victim's mind.

"No..." he said cautiously while sliding off of the counter to avoid any accidents born out of shock. There was no telling what that damnable rag would print, especially when it came to him.

Bridget's smile only seemed to deepen at his response, but instead of approaching him she slipped right by and went to Kagome. She showed the older woman the clipping, and without delay she had broken down into helpless giggles seconds after beginning to read it. This only served to put Harry even more on edge.

"Harry, oh Harry," Kagome laughed, "so this is what you boys get up to when you're supposed to be doing research..."

"Er..." he suddenly had a pretty good idea on what that article was about. He needn't have wondered much longer as Kagome began to read out loud.

"_**Hunters on the Loose**__ The students of Hogwarts were prepared to take their final exams when they woke up on the morning of Thursday, June twentieth. What they were not prepared for was to see two of the most famous household names of the  
Reinstated Era running amuck and insufficiently clothed. Naruto Uzumaki, 16, and Harry Potter, 25, both well known for their Demon Hunting capabilities, had arrived at Hogwarts for undisclosed reasons known only to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. As it turned out, those reasons may have been nothing more than fan service._

'_It's disgraceful,' says Potions professor, Draco Malfoy, 'to actively try and disrupt a testing atmosphere. It is obviously a ploy for publicity'. But not everyone was testing. Several witnesses stated that Uzumaki and Potter had begun to wrestle (a form of muggle dueling) on top of the lake. Whether this account is true has yet to be confirmed. One seventh year Hufflepuff claimed to have seen them 'streaking down the halls—_"

"That's enough!" Harry cried out before anymore could be said. He scowled as the two girls broke down into even more giggles.

"Fan service, Harry?" Kagome said mirthfully, hiding the article behind her back as the hunter made a desperate grab for it.

"It wasn't like that!" he said defensively, "It was an accident. Hagrid took our shirts and then chased us down the halls. They're skewing things up again."

"Oh calm down, we're just teasing you," Bridget smiled and took the clipping from Kagome, leaning in to whisper in her ear. Harry's ears twitched as he caught mutterings of "copies" passing between the females before they broke apart—completely culpable looks on their faces. Huffing, Harry moodily perched himself back on the counter and took another sip of his diet coke. The bittersweet bubbles seemed to calm him down almost instantly.

"Anyway...I think since it's the end of the school year we need to have a pool party!" Bridget said happily. It was obvious that article was going to be passed around in a few more hands before the day was over. "I'm going to call Karen!"

She pranced right over her discarded bag and, in her elated state, managed to find the nerve to plant a deviously swift kiss on Harry's cheek before giggling up to her room. With a mouthful of diet coke, Harry could do nothing but choke rather than yell at her like his first instinct told him to do.

Kagome laughed quietlyat the boyish man before her with glee dancing in her eyes.

"You are so oblivious."

Swallowing some air into his lungs Harry looked at her confused, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Never mind," Kagome sighed and turned back to her task of drying the dishes.

Outside the warm kitchen, in the healthy, green grass of a well-kept lawn, the environment was anything but playful.

Naruto and Inuyasha were facing each other, now on their feet after spending the last hour poking and prodding their mental shields to ensure the permanence of them. Naruto couldn't help but feel nervous as deep, amber eyes bored into his own. Inuyasha stood only feet away, fully prepared to invade his mind at any given second.

"Alright kit," Inuyasha began evenly, "this is as intense of a mental attack as you will ever get...I hope so anyway."

"Then why are you warning me?" Naruto countered cannily, "Kind of takes away the intensity of it, don't you thi—"

It was in mid sentence that a rocket like force blasted through his mind, causing him to physically stumble backwards. He gritted his teeth as moments of his life—moments even he had tried to lock away from himself—bubbled up to the forefront of his mind. Mobs...hands...weapons...those eyes...those cold, heartless, eyes...

_'No, no...hell no...'_

The best defense is a good offense—the simplest rule in the book—and with this in mind Naruto began to gather all his mental willpower built up from hours upon hours of meditating and shoved back against the intruder. For a moment he felt in power, like he was slamming the thick metal door of a vault right in the path of Inuyasha's merciless prod. But the control ended there; as he pushed back with all his cerebral power it suddenly seemed like he was being pulled along with it, away from his memories and his mind. He felt himself leave his mindscape and enter into another at such an alarming speed that, at first, he hadn't realized what he was experiencing.

It was as if he were watching a broken up film roll. He saw snippets and faces and then a cell—one filled with hopelessness and cold that gripped at his chest as though he were really locked away inside it. He saw more faces, hundreds of them. And then came the blood.

He saw blood; lots and lots of blood—some dark and dried, crusting and flaking, some fresh, bright and thin, flowing down both skin and earth.

_...Kanji in the snow...written in blood...__**twenty eight kids**_

_...The body of a woman split down the middle from the top of her head—her silvery hair turned brown with caked blood and brains—down to her navel...A beheaded infant was still encompassed in her limp arms..._

_...A young man with his skull crushed...the indents of strong, murdering fingers left in his head...the eye sockets were a hollow mess after being gouged inwards by someone's thumbs..._

_...A pair of identical males swung limply from a tree by the ropes around their necks...the ground beneath them was littered with the evidence of their disembowelment..._

_...A damaged heart pulled from the breast of a woman and left damaged on the ground next to her head...the remnants of a teen male splayed across cream colored walls...two children lay side by side, their faces, still wet with tears, were gaunt from lack of oxygen after obvious signs of poisoning, their eyes were popped open, bulging and blood shot...a small girl hung from a coat-hook on the back of a door by the center of her ousted spine...the blood ran down her dangling arms and legs, pooling on the floor..._

Another pressure on his distracted mind pushed back on his so fast, so hard, that he was sent to the ground in an undignified heap. The sun was beating down on him and grass pricked against the palms of his hands that kept his trembling body seated upright—but knowing he was once again aware of the world around him left him no comfort. His stomach clenched and unclenched rapidly and he was forced to turn over as he emptied the contents of his stomach.

It wasn't the gore that had made him sick. The complexity of the human mind had left him with the evidence that memories are not limited to the sense of sight. Instead of simply viewing those horrors he could feel the very emotions that were coursing through Inuyasha as the man witnessed these things...the sheer concentration of those feelings...those people who were tortured and defiled...they were his _family_...

Pushing himself up on shaky arms, he hesitantly lifted his head to look at Inuyasha. He certainly had a funny look about him; he didn't seem angry...he didn't seem anything. His face was impassive, perhaps a little pale, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking as he stared down at the blonde on the ground.

Naruto remained silent. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he could say anything, if he even had the right to. What do you say to someone whose worst memories were no longer privy to his own mind?

"Well, I can honestly say you're much more proficient in this than Harry," Inuyasha announced. The statement seemed like such an absurd thing to say at the time and his voice sounded strangely hollow.

Naruto pulled himself to his knees, shame overwhelming him as he looked down at his fingers twisting around each other. Perhaps the physical pain of a bent finger would overwhelm the pain in his heart that ached from something he never should have seen. Assembling his courage he lifted his head.

"Inuyasha..."

He was gone. Naruto was alone in the backyard, not entirely shocked at the absence of the man but for reasons he couldn't understand somewhat hurt by it.

He stayed on the ground a moment longer, trying to calm his quivering nerves as well as to make sense of the torrent of emotions running through him. Some were based out of confusion, others despondency and some were remnants of the sheer agony Inuyasha was put through as he saw that carnage. Maybe that was the problem: Inuyasha had always seemed unbreakable to him...invincible even. But no one with power such as his could have such a carefree soul. No one could smile that often without having had to pay for it in advance. He should have known better; it was his mistake.

For the second time that day, Kagome had the crap scared out of her as the door was kicked open yet again. Harry had gone upstairs just moments before (probably to try and steal that article from Bridget) so she knew it couldn't have been him. Turning to yell at the culprit, the rebuke died on her lips when she saw Naruto enter the kitchen looking sickly and fairly anxious.

"Did Inuyasha come through here?" he asked while looking around the kitchen incase the hanyou was just hiding behind the island counter.

"Oh...no...but I heard the car leave the garage," Kagome answered slowly, unsure about what was going on, "I though you were with him?"

"I..." Naruto began without looking her in the eyes, "he...I mean...you said he took his car?"

"Yes, I think so, but—," Naruto had run out before she could even ask him why he was looking for her mate.

"Just what the hell is going on?"she muttered into the empty kitchen. Inuyasha rarely ever took the car—leaving it mostly for her use. She couldn't understand why Naruto would be looking for her husband when the two were just together minutes ago or why he looked so upset. She could only reach the conclusion that something bad must have happened between them, which was an unsettling thought in itself since Naruto and Inuyasha never fought—even with Naruto's added hostility from the Change.

Naruto skimmed over the rooftops of Salem, soon leaving the suburban district and crossing over into the city. He could just barely cling onto the scent of Inuyasha and was thankful for the dog's out-of-character action of taking his car—without the trail of the unique scent to follow he wouldn't have stood a chance in Hell at tracking him down. He pursued the track past his and Harry's apartment complex, past the Pickering House that hid the Salem Witches' Institute Bridget attended, and all the way to the other side of the city. He slowed as the stale scent of death and graveyard soil washed over him; drowning out whatever hint he might have whiffed to lead him there. It didn't matter at that point anyway; Naruto knew instinctively he didn't need to travel any farther. He passed through the tall, cast-iron gates that read 'Burying Point', keeping to the path as he passed headstones and monuments of every make and marble. The atmosphere both unsettled and calmed him—a strange sensation that he could only attribute to his demonic custom.

A cool wind pressed against his skin, carrying with it an exceptional scent, and with it Inuyasha's presence was broadcasted. Hurrying along path he was on carried him up a moderate sized hill. The view of the sky broke as he reached the top and there he saw the back of Inuyasha right below him. The man was still as stone, his hands in his jean pockets as he stood before an array of white marble headstones, all of a similar build. Naruto approached quietly, making sure to keep his footfalls silent as he descended down the hill. He did this out of respect for Inuyasha's mourning, not to keep from having his presence noticed for such a feat was foolish when dealing with the legend. The hanyou must have known he was around the moment he arrived at the cemetery.

He stopped several feet behind Inuyasha, not daring to approach any closer. The grieving man gave no acknowledgement to his company.

"Which ones?" Naruto broke the silence by asking has he searched the dozens of headstones on the designated plot of land before them.

"All of them," was the reply.

Silence encompassed them once more as Naruto took the time to gather in the sheer number of graves with disbelief. Something took a hold of him from within and he suddenly wanted nothing more than to comfort the resilient man in front of him, the very one who seemed to carry this burden on his conscience with silence and dignity.

"Inuyasha I—," Naruto swallowed a painful and completely unnecessary lump in his throat which had mysteriously tightened sometime in the last minute, "I'm so...so sorry..."

"Don't be," and Inuyasha finally turned face him bearing a smile that looked so real, but, at the same time, so fake. There was something frighteningly familiar about it. "I had anticipated a backlash...I simply underestimated you. It was my mistake."

His voice sounded so casual, so understanding, that Naruto started to feel sick again. He began to shake his head without realizing it.

"No, nothing was your fault. None of it was—you can't expect anyone to blame you!" they both knew he was no longer speaking about the Occlumency incident. Inuyasha's next smile seemed genuinely real as it only reflected sadness.

"Whether I'm to blame or not doesn't matter; their deaths are on my hands. Nothing will ever change that."

Naruto felt managed to feel numb and oversensitive all at the same time. Had no one realized that Inuyasha held these burdens, letting them weigh down on his decisions and assessments all this time? Had no one realized that despite all his authority he could suffer too? Did Kagome know this? Did Shesshomaru? Did Harry? Why hadn't anyone helped him before?

Naruto's feet had moved on their own accord, stopping right up next to the silver-haired man. His tanned hand touched a bare, cold forearm. He wanted Inuyasha to feel something, to know that he was here with him now, alive. The contact drew Inuyasha's gaze to his face and it killed Naruto inside to see a broken light reflected back at him in those tawny eyes. He was responsible for this. He had brought these memories up fresh, reminding his mentor of his own failings to protect those he loved.

"I..." He suddenly felt that his strength was worth nothing compared to the man in front of him. How could he possibly imagine taking on the responsibility of protecting his world when he couldn't even handle a few memories that weren't his own? If Inuyasha couldn't save his precious people...then what good was he, Naruto, the dead last? A thick austerity blanketed his mind and his eyes began to burn in a threatening manner, much to his own mortification.

To say Inuyasha was shocked when he saw the young man's eyes brim with tears was an understatement. The boy quickly turned his head and rubbed at his face with his free hand, the other still clasped firmly to his arm. He couldn't believe how much this seemed to be affecting Naruto—the teen still looked sallow-skinned and unstable after inadvertently blowing through his own shields, but rather than fear, the only thing he could glean out of those shining blue irises was sympathy and remorse.

And it was all for him, he realized slowly as his attention was brought to the warm fingers that gripped forearm, serving their sole purpose in letting him know that he wasn't alone. This boy wanted to comfort _him_. The uncovered, hollow sensation that had concaved his heart began to fill in once more as a warm smile managed to make its way across Inuyasha's face.

Naruto let out a small gasp when Inuyasha pulled his arm out of his grip and placed it around his shoulders in a one-armed hug. As he was drawn into the taller man's side his body unintentionally stiffened, having never experienced this kind of affection before. He blushed faintly as he felt himself relax into the snug side, welcoming the soothing warmth that bloomed in his chest. This feeling...was this was being loved by a father felt like?

The two stood before the array of memorials for several minutes, soaking up each others' companionship. The atmosphere was hardly disturbed when Inuyasha began to speak gently.

"Do you know what it is that makes us all so special?"

Naruto did not need to ask for him to elaborate; he had heard it many times before from many sources: the news, Kagome, Harry, Bridget, and Inuyasha himself. They were special—Inuyasha, Harry, and now him. Their souls were parallel; they were connected to the PTB, destined to overcome inhuman obstacles, never meant to lead a simple life.

"We're ridiculously powerful," Naruto mumbled, his face still burning from being handled as such. He could feel Inuyasha's ribs rub against his shoulder as he chuckled.

"It's our ability to live, Naruto."

"Anyone can live," he near-whispered as he watched the headstones steadily contrast with the slowly darkening sky, "what was so special about that?

"It's special, because you never _stop_ living. Despite whatever happens you know instinctively how to recover and carry on. That is what made you stronger than Gaara...it's what made you stronger than Sasuke. No matter how powerful they've become you will always be stronger for that."

"You're like that too;" Naruto said softly, "you and Harry are...he said it was love, right? That explains how you can be so happy with Kagome...and not let any baggage get in the way of your relationship...even after all the years you spent apart and..."

Inuyasha nodded as the boy drifted off, "But you're one step more than that..."

'Destined for greatness'...he had heard that term many times in his long (long to some, not so long to others) life. It had been applied to him; it had been applied to Harry; it had been applied to many others before them and will be applied to many others after. But the reality was that they were simply acting as they saw fit when placed in extraordinary situations. They were special yes, and destiny was unarguably a part of their lives. But greatness—that was a word overused and underestimated. He felt greatness didn't quite apply to him, or Harry, or even Shae. They were simply doing what they did best, only what was asked of them, nothing more and nothing less. That wasn't greatness; that was duty, morality, heroism even. But the first time he looked at Naruto, greatness was the first word that came to mind. Because everything he did was for other people. He saw these responsibilities and took them on even when they had nothing to do with him. Even he—the great Inuyasha—didn't bother with such selflessness until he was at least a couple of hundred years old, and Harry still didn't like to get involved with other people's affairs.

But Naruto was different. He held an unusually profound wisdom for someone of his age; wisdom that many humans go their own lives without ever attaining. He was an idiot most of the time, no one could deny that, but he was incredibly _wise_. He knew how to live his life before he could even understand what it meant to live.

"You touch peoples lives without even trying, Naruto," he said, "And as such, you command their loyalty. In the end, that is what really makes you powerful."

"Wh-why are you saying this?" Naruto asked in a meek voice. Regardless of his modest tone, a pleased blush had darkened his already tanned skin.

Inuyasha didn't respond right away. Instead he removed himself from the partial-embrace and a cold wind swept down that side of Naruto's figure as the heat Inuyasha had generated into his being lifted into the dusk. Hands pulled at his shoulders, forcing him to look at Inuyasha face to face.

"Naruto, thank you," He said sincerely with no other explanation. On his face was a smile. A small one, unlike his usual goofy grins or cocky smirks; it was genuine—not hiding the sadness but also displaying heartfelt gratitude.

Inuyasha straitened and tousled Naruto's already unruly hair with a large, clawed hand.

"Come on, we should get back so Kagome can yell at us."

Naruto bit his lip sheepishly, "I did kind of kick the shit out of your door...she didn't seem too happy about that..."

Inuyasha laughed whole-heartedly and Naruto could not begin to fathom how much he had missed that sound, no matter how brief its absence. When he exited the cemetery Naruto noticed the dark green sedan seated alone in the parking lot. A youthful excitement briefly took over his mind.

"Hey, hey! Can I drive?" he asked bouncing around and back to his usual blithe character. Inuyasha countered with a customary wide grin.

"Sure. And it's 'may I'."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The summer of 2006 flew by much to fast for Bridget's tastes. Her father, Harry and Naruto spent the majority of their free time working tirelessly in the office, pouring over books and scroll and notes with many disturbing blasts and vulgar curses often muffled from behind those closed doors. Her sister had stopped by a couple of times, as well as her Aunt Rin and Uncle Sesshomaru, but other than that it proved to be an uneventful two months. However, there was one thing that she did have to look forward to: her coming of age.

It was this stimulating detail that had her pleading with two of the three most central men in her life on her back porch—without much luck. The moment she mentioned having an all-nighter in the pool house with her and a bunch of her friends they immediate skated around her invitation, claiming to have several large and very dangerous demons to hunt down that particular night.

"You guys, come on, it's my birthday! My coming of age! You _have_ to be there!"

"No," Harry dismissed certainly. Naruto, on the other hand, appeared indecisive at Bridget's crushed countenance.

"Um...well..."

Harry frowned at his hesitance, "Naruto, do you remember her last birthday party?"

The blonde thought back to when he first arrived and she had just turned sixteen. All those girls...the squealing...the pinching...

He shuddered and Bridget narrowed her eyes at the both of them.

"Bear in mind that if you don't show, I'll be allowed to use magic, and I _will_ make you regret it!" Her steely glare made the boys rethink their position.

"I guess we could make an appearance..." Naruto suggested weakly. Harry grimaced, closing his eyes in resignation.

"Fine—"

"YAY!" Bridget shrieked so suddenly that the two males hissed from the pain it brought to their sensitive ears. She gave each one a quick, tight hug filled with absolute giddiness and then took off.

"Harry, I'm expecting you to supply the alcohol!" she hollered over her shoulder before disappearing into the house.

"Inuyasha's going to kill me," the wizard groaned. Naruto shrugged casually, appreciating that it was not his problem.

"Then don't do it."

"You try saying no to that—that—," Harry broke off with a series of aggravated gestures towards the sliding door that Bridget had slipped through moments ago.

"...Harry-bot..." Naruto snorted which earned him a sharp slap to the head. Rubbing his now aching skull Naruto peered at the other man out of one watery eye. "Is that how you treat someone who was about to do you a favor?"

It took a moment for Harry to figure out what he was talking before he remembered what the two were doing outside before Bridget assaulted them; Naruto was supposed to summon a toad so that they could ask it what it felt like to be summoned and give themselves a better grasp on exactly how they wanted the seals to activate.

Apparently he took too long to respond because Naruto awarded him a low, annoyed growl from deep in his throat and proceeded to nip at his own finger for blood. A flash of hand-signs and a cloud of smoke later once again left the Nagasaki's with a large amphibian on their porch.

Harry blinked with mystification for the moment when Naruto stood up from his crouch; he hadn't realized that they were just about eye level to each other. The young man had really hit his growth spurt over the last few months, finally shooting up several inches to reach about five feet and ten inches.

'_Honestly,'_ Harry thought with bemused fascination, _'first Bridget now Naruto...'_

"Yo, Naruto!" Gamakichi greeted, taking his dragon sculpted pipe out of his mouth.

"Gamakichi! It's been a while, how're things?"

"No chit-chatting," Harry interrupted to which Naruto stuck his tongue out at him with great maturity, "we need to ask you what it feels like to be summoned."

The toad scratched at his bumpy head with a gloved toe, a bit caught off guard with the strange question.

"We feel it before you summon us—a sort of tug within us. We can decide not to go or not, but not going takes more effort than its worth. It's better to just allow yourself to be pulled away. That is only when you humans get good enough that you can pinpoint and target specific summons. Otherwise it depends how much power is put into it. We all feel it when our scroll is being utilized...when there's a lot of chakra the tug will completely bypass most of the smaller summons, and when there's too little it will never even reach the larger ones."

Naruto and Harry shared a pleasantly astonish look.

"Well that was surprisingly helpful," Harry professed. Naruto rolled his eyes at his friend and gave the toad an appreciative smile.

"Thanks Gamakichi!"

"Might I ask why you needed to know what it feels like?" Gamakichi asked with suspicion thick in his tone. He glared playfully at his human of choice.

Naruto chuckled and waved him off, "Nah, don't worry about it—I'm sure you'll find out one day. How're things in Konoha?"

Gamakichi's demeanor did a disturbingly swift one-eighty and a sullen ambiance pulled in tight around the group of three.

"Not good," he croaked gravely, "The Akatsuki have got all the other demons and have begun to use them. No major attacks or anything yet but there have been a few appearances at some smaller settlements to get the masses scared. Pops has been summoned two times already to help Jiraiya-baka defend the less able villages."

"_What_?" Naruto was ashen faced, his fists clenched tight and his posture rigid, "You mean they've—even without Kyuubi they can—"

He halted as his breath became quicker and anger, impossible anger, flooded his mind. He was not aware he was snarling or that his eyes had altered into a crazed red or that his whiskers had broadened. He was only aware that the Akatsuki were on the move and there was no one that could take on the bijuu. They could attack Konoha any day now; they could attack it tomorrow even. Hell, they could be attacking it right now with every bijuu they had and he was here, stuck and safe, in a completely detached world...

"Fuck!" he yelled and slammed his fist into the wooden beam that helped steady the porch roof. The wood cracked under his demonically enhanced strength and his hand nearly passed strait through.

"Naruto," Harry cautioned, a sliver of pity laced within, "calm down, we can save them if you just—"

"No, I need to go back now," Naruto cut off with a cold reply. It seemed that all rationality had left him; the only thing he could focus on was getting to Konoha and making sure village was safe and whole. He needed to make sure it stayed that way, "They could be dying right now while we just stand here—!"

Harry roughly grabbed the shoulders of Naruto's shirt and slammed him up against the already abused roof post. The wood groaned under the added pressure and splintered further. Harry glared into Naruto's bloodthirsty eyes with unwavering resolve until the scarlet irises reluctantly faded into blue. Both of them appeared to have forgotten about the toad mere feet away from them, watching the happenings uncomfortably (how this could be when it nearly reached six feet high and smoked a pipe is a mystery).

Harry didn't let go of Naruto's shirt even with the blonde retracting his youki, "Listen to me: you can't do anything until the summoning scroll is finished."

One look into Harry's hardened emerald gaze and Naruto produced a slow nod, his face betraying how helpless he felt at the moment. Harry released him and stepped back.

"We'll work hard," he assured, "and we'll finish that scroll as soon as possible. You keep working with Hiraikotsu and your elemental training until you're positive you can take down at least a six tail. It wouldn't do to have you return only to get taken out early by a demon. Then you'd be even more useless."

Naruto's lips twitched at the jibe and he was forced to agree. Get strong now, save more people later.

"Are, uh, you guys gunna be alright?" Gamakichi asked hesitantly, his hairless brow furrowed with mild concern. Naruto nodded and Harry mumbled a 'yeah'. "Well in that case I'm going to get outta here. Later bro!"

Smoke swirled around them as the toad took off; free to escape that world as he pleased. Naruto swallowed as he watched his friend leave, feeling mildly numb for the situation he found himself in despite his earlier resolve to focus on his training.

"Look at it this way," Harry said, "at least you'll have some fresh motivation. I think you were getting too comfortable here anyway."

"Yeah, you're right, I was," Naruto sighed and leaned back against the wooden beam behind him. He was too late to realize his mistake, even after a loud and final crack was echoed into the air. The two demon hunters only had a second to share a dismayed, wide-eyed look before porch post gave way and the center roof caved in upon them.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Yikes! Chaos in shinobi-land! And a little peek into Inuyasha's miserable little mind. Not alot of Konoha action, but obviously that's going to change since crazy shizzle is about to go down.

Unfortunately I may be over a week in between updates due to insane amounts of lab work. I will be driven to madness before Christmas.

Thank you guys all so much for your support with this story (and believe me, its not easy getting support for crossovers --), I love receiving your reviews and feedback :D kisskiss!


	17. The Second Element

**Chapter 17**

Sakura gasped as she felt a long, thin projectile pierce just below the left side of her ribcage; the pole-like spear finished its course by exiting out of her back and imbedding itself into the bark of a tree behind her. The weapons that resembled giant, metal senbon were really starting to tick her off; that was the third one that had managed to wound her. Of course, being the apprentice of the legendary sannin Tsunade reduced them to nothing more than an annoyance. With incredible skill and brutality she splayed one glowing hand over the blood-spouting injury while simultaneously lunging forward and using her other hand to strike down the nuke-nin clear in the face. The man didn't have a chance to scream as his entire head imploded from the powerful blow.

The pink-haired medic-nin straitened while swiping her long, sweaty bangs out of her face, absently thankful that she had recently taken to wearing the rest of it up in a French twist. It only took four more seconds of pumping her healing chakra into her side for her wound to be completely mended.

"Well done Haruno-san," a male voice spoke from across the forest clearing. She looked over the haphazard mass of bloodied bodies to see that the other three Jounin of her temporarily assigned team had taken care of the rest of the illegal party.

"Right," she said, "let's head back. Make sure you've grabbed the scroll."

Ever since the Akatsuki had gained control of all available bijuu Konoha had been working its ninja overtime. They were spouting out more and more genin, lowering the standards slightly to increase their forces for the looming war, pushing ninja into missions they weren't quite ready for. This had left the more talented and powerful shinobi spread thin—especially those of the rookie nine, who were forced to take on high ranking missions with less than capable shinobi to increase their seasoning. The three jounin she had been sent to Grass country with had actually passed the same Jounin exam she had, yet she was far more able and experienced, even though she was the youngest.

They arrived at the village in less than two days, only bothering to stop once for a four hour sleep. Sakura took in the proud walls of Konoha as she passed through the gate—beige and imposing, enclosing one of the shinobi world's most prestigious and humane villages. She recently had made a habit of appreciating the sight every time she returned form a mission; she didn't know how much longer they would be standing.

"I'll hand in the report; you guys go and rest up. I'm sure Tsunade-sama will have another mission ready soon," she ordered the three men.

"Hai!" they gave her a short, quick bow and appeared to have flickered out of sight due to their high speed. She frowned at the spot where they had stood seconds before. She hadn't even bothered to learn their names—two months ago she would have never taken on a mission without first getting acquainted with her new teammates. But ever since the first sighting of a bijuu she had been sent on so many missions, seen so many faces come and go, that she had shut herself off from personalizing any anonymous face she worked with.

'_Such depressing times...'_ she thought gloomily as she made her way through the sparsely crowded streets up to the Hokage's office. She found it regrettable that people had already begun to avoid leaving their homes when they hadn't even been attacked yet. The chuunin guards at the door didn't even need to look at her as she passed through; her presence these days granted her nearly as much access as the Hokage herself.

"Shishou, I've got the report and the Sukuro-ru no Sachi," she announced, walking up and placing the document and Scroll of Fortune on the cluttered desk. She frowned disapprovingly to see the slug sannin had already broken out the sake and was taking her sweet time going over the stack of reports before her.

Tsunade peered over the rim of her cup, a frown tugging at her lips as she took notice of the appearance of her student. The girl was a valuable asset to Konoha, no one could deny that: constantly throwing herself into missions, training night and day, and taking on more and more responsibilities. But looking at her now it seemed that she had bit off more than she could chew. Her already pale complexion had taken on an unhealthy, drained look which only served to accent the dark rings forming under her eyes. Her hair, while still groomed had lost its usual luster, as had her eyes, the jade color darkening with the weight of the responsibilities she had placed upon herself. Her body, once full and every bit of a seventeen-year-old's envy had thinned, not taking kindly to the strain that she was exposing it to.

"Sakura, how are you fairing?" she asked tentatively, knowing how defensive the girl could get. The teenager glanced out the window before responding, thinking over her answer since she knew her master enough to know 'fine' would never cut it.

"Restless, I suppose..."

The blonde woman nodded, her eyes closed in a relaxed manner that said she had imagined such an answer.

"Just as I would expect from you. You've been performing wonderfully through all this tension, but I think you should take a rest for a while. As much as I like seeing you so dedicated to your shinobi duties I'd rather you were in top form as often as possible. It's only a matter of time before the Akatsuki bring the power of the bijuu down upon us and we'll need full strength from our best."

Instead of looking relived from the given break or pleased from the compliments Sakura allowed her anguish to finally show on her face.

"I don't get it," Sakura heaved with all the frustration she had bottled inside, "why don't they just attack everyone and get it over with? I would much rather be fighting to the death with them than suffer anymore of this tension—never knowing when my last day will come!"

"Because they want to avoid massacre if necessary," Tsunade explained. The idea that the Akatsuki were avoiding violence made no sense to Sakura, and she conveyed her feelings with a dry, humorless look directed at her mentor. The older woman sighed and shamelessly filled her sake cup much to Sakura's chagrin.

"The Akatsuki's goal is not world destruction, its world domination. Their plan was to set bijuu loose on certain villages and then come in and save the day, proving that they were the only ones with the power to handle the bijuu. What they wanted was more compliance from the villages they were trying to dominate. After all, what's the point ruling the world when there's nothing left to rule? But that little aspect of their plan was foiled thanks to our very own pervert."

Redness had gathered around her cheeks at this point and Sakura decided for her own sanity that it was all due to the alcohol.

"After discovering their true intent and spreading the word, no village will willingly see the Akatsuki as their savior. There's already been a resistance building up over the last several months...so now the Akatsuki are taking their time in breaking it all down again: starting with intimidation and fear. You yourself are a prime example of what they're aiming for," Sakura opened her mouth, fully intent on discrediting the woman, but Tsunade held a hand up for silence, "You are wearing yourself down by letting their power and what they may or may not do with it consume you. You are loosing your focus on what's important, you are letting them win. I know it's hard Sakura, especially when you have so much to loose, but sometimes you need to step back and look at the whole picture. The Akatsuki will eventually attack Konoha, it's a given, but it is clear that they are starting off with minor 'bijuu sightings' and then will move on to the smaller villages before they attempt to attack one of the great shinobi nations. It's a good tactic on their part—attack our income first, starting at the bottom and work their way up. The point is that we have more time than you think, so spend some time with your family and take a nap. I'm not sending you on anymore missions until you look like a healthy human being again."

Honey-brown eyes held onto dulled green until Sakura felt that she couldn't hide her emotions any longer and dropped her gaze to the floor. She wanted so much to believe her master's words; she wanted so much to just lie down and clear her mind of everything that plagued it. But it wasn't that simple, nothing ever was.

"Do you know what tomorrow is," she asked in a dampened voice. She was tired, and not just from exhaustion. She functioned like a robot these days, her body doing what it was told but her mind racing with endless possibilities and horrible thoughts—thoughts of the Akatsuki attacking Konoha, thoughts of seeing her parents and friends killed before her eyes, thoughts of never being strong enough to make a difference. But worst of all, in the midst of all the anxiety and strain, she had almost forgotten about Naruto. Sure she was strong, a jounin rivaling the Hokage herself even, and now she was living independently while trying to keep up a brave front for the civilians. But her teammate had been gone for over a year now and so much had happened with her in that time that he had somehow managed to slip from her mind.

"Yes," Tsunade smiled sadly, "and he would want you to enjoy yourself on his birthday. Knowing him he'll be partying hard."

The first true grin in a long while broke the grim and diligent mask Sakura had held in place for the last several weeks. A shaky giggle bubbled from her throat—another thing that had been missing from her life for too long—as she pictured all the wild things Naruto would get up to on his birthday. Maybe...maybe she could take a look at the big picture. It always seemed to work for Naruto at least.

Little did the two women know, they couldn't have been further from the truth.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Anyone who knew Uzumaki Naruto was well aware that when he made a vow he would honor it through thick and thin, and Harry Potter was no exception to this—but that didn't mean he had to like it.

True to his word, Naruto had thrown himself into his training, making progress with leaps and bounds. He had managed to propel himself forwards slightly when airborne, his handle on Hiraikotsu was now on par with that of its original craftsman, and he could sense auras from miles away. But every cloud has its silver lining, and while the recent news of his homeland had brought forth immense effort on his part, it had taken a toll on his attitude. His laughs diminished, his smiles were become more and more sparse, and he reacted to most things with a tense stoicism. He hardly seemed to enjoy Bridget's birthday party over two months ago, much to the witch's vexation.

The last time he had seen Naruto truly happy was on his birthday—and that had been due to excessive (and perhaps a little forced) ingestion of fire whisky. When Harry was sure Naruto was good and drunk (while being a little sloshed himself) he whisked the spanking new seventeen-year-old off to a known demon-inhabited portion of Canada for some good old fashioned DDH. Of course Inuyasha eventually found out, which therefore meant Kagome eventually found out, which resulted with Harry ended up with one very large bruise on his head.

But Harry could understand how Naruto felt; he knew what it was like to have so much responsibility and be stuck at a standstill. He knew what it was like to be constantly questioning 'am I strong enough?' and then repeatedly discovering that the answer was still 'no'. But sympathetic or not, he still wouldn't let the little punk beat him in a spar! So he focused back in to the little match they were holding on their designated playground above his gate in India.

Harry had to duck as a powerful leg blew overhead. He continued his journey downwards until his weight was placed on his left hand, kicking both legs out at the opening to Naruto's midriff. The other twisted out of the way in a horizontal jump, flashing through handseals while airborne.

"Doton: Hokoriarashi no jutsu!" Naruto called as he landed in a crouch, slamming both his hands into the loose dirt. Two swirling cyclones of dust sprouted from the ground beyond each planted hand, growing in size as their warpath led straight to Harry. The speed in which they were traveling managed to catch the wizard in between them, feeling the full affects of the jutsu. Naruto had taken to modifying his techniques with his own affinity and this one was no exception. By applying his wind chakra to the tornado of dirt each particle became razor sharp, leaving hundreds of incisors all over his body. And so Harry began to bleed...

"_Funiculus Catena!_" Harry countered, careful to keep his mouth from filling with soil as he utilized the easy access to his own blood that his partner had so kindly granted him. His retaliation broke through Naruto's jutsu, reducing the once fierce twisters into nothing more than a fog of sinking filth.

Naruto soon found six thin, dripping red chains shooting out at him, wriggling around on their own accord like flying snakes. He dodged them as they attempted to curl around his limbs, springing and flipping backwards with nimbleness unknown to humans. However, despite his dexterity they only seemed to stretch farther away from Harry, following his every move and trying to capture him in what he could only imagine as a surprisingly painful grip. It wasn't long before Naruto opted to go up rather than out. He started off leaping up and back, every dodge taking him higher and higher, every handspring securely founded by frail looking cloudy haze beneath each point of contact.

Sitting on the ground a good deal away from the spar was the boys' savior and mentor, observing the fight with calculating, golden eyes. He couldn't deny that Naruto's control over the wind was growing more and more impressive. It had come to point where it was obvious that there had to be some other element involved. He watched as the blonde created a burst of power that was concentrated on the soles of his feet. One that was strong enough to send him darting forwards at a high speed but still too unstable to stop him from loosing control and slipping into a lower level of atmosphere. Fortunately for Naruto he was used to such blunders with that process and he managed to catch himself before Harry's next spell struck him.

Apparently Harry was getting tired of playing cat and mouse and decided to even the playing fields by turning the figure of speech turn literal. He allowed the blood chains to drop, splashing the ground with the dark red liquid as a ball of fire engulfed him. A second later a large, black, two-tailed cat sprung forth out of the quickly dying flame and into the air. Naruto swore loudly and attempted to set off higher, though he knew it was fruitless to try and outrun Harry in his animagus form; his speed rivaled Inuyasha's like this. The best way to deal with the demon cat was by overpowering it. Naruto soon discovered that didn't have time to dwell on the best ways to take out Harry; with the Hell-cat's magnificent speed as well as its fire ability to stay airborne, Harry had caught up to the ninja in no time and successfully tackled him back to the ground.

Being thrown down from over forty feet in the air and having a five-hundred pound beast on top of him made the landing all the more painful for Naruto. However, his pain tolerance was outstanding, and he used the power behind the tackle to roll them over and into a short tussle. As the momentum carried the tangle of tan and furred limbs Naruto managed to pull both humongous paws away from his chest and kicked out at the cat's rib, successfully stopping the feline from nipping at his neck, and sending Harry off him.

Had this fight happened half a year ago, Naruto would have been suffering from broken ribs and severe blood loss this far into their little jostle. He wouldn't have even been able to throw Harry's full-sized nekomata form off himself with such apparent ease. Strength training with the Hiraikotsu could have been attributed to that advancement, but there was more to it than that. His demonic genes were incorporating into his DNA, making Naruto's body even more resilient than the jinchuuriki already was; his were bones stronger, his wounds healed faster, his skin was tougher, and he could regenerate blood as fast as any full-blooded demon. Every time he sparred with Harry, the raven-haired boy would hold back less and less.

And every time he would aim to prove to Harry that he shouldn't hold back at all.

The brief two seconds Naruto had bought himself when he threw Harry off of him was all he needed to get back on the offensive. He shot to his feet, letting a powerful shockwave of hot air rocket out in all directions, the force catching Harry mid-lunge. The demon flipped along with the blast, feline spine snaping around so that he landed square on his paws several paces back.

Inuyasha threw his arms up over his face with a light laugh when the remnants of Naruto's hit pushed him heatedly into the tree he was seated against. When the heat dulled to a warm air and he could no longer feel the wind bearing down on his forearms he relaxed his stance back into his observatory commission. When he focused in on what was happening in front of him he couldn't stop his smile from widening mechanically.

Judging from the relaxed pose, tranquil expression, and awareness flared deep in his aura—Naruto had just pulled himself into the seventh and final stage of meditation within seconds of regaining his footing, and while standing no less. This was exactly what he and the blonde had been working for since they began their elemental training over a year ago; evidence of his perseverance and progress was all laid out in front of him. Even with Harry prowling around threateningly it was as though Naruto instinctively knew that he could not be touched while in this state.

Inuyasha was only able to enjoy the brief bout of pride before his attention was snapped away from the battlefield and drawn towards his surroundings. The pale, long grass beneath him was stirring and the trees around them creaked and groaned with movement...but...it wasn't the wind that was moving them...

And all of a sudden the forest had become _attentive_.

Suddenly it was him who was alert; his posture had gone rigid without him even noticing, his ears began to twitch at every sound the environment made, and something alien tightened in his chest as a force greater than he was disturbed. His instincts were going haywire, but they hadn't reacted like this since...

He looked at Naruto again and was reminded cogently of the first time he experienced this...phenomenon. The boy, poised as ever in his meditative trance, was emanating deep, pulsating waves of pure chakra that belonged to neither himself nor the Kyuubi. At the same time the ground at Naruto's feet began to dry out, spreading outwards in a growing diameter. The sparse grass curled and yellowed, the dirt became brittle and cracked as the moisture was drawn from it. It was like he was sucking the energy out of the earth around him, pulling it into his own being to utilize, while sending chakra outwards through the air as well.

The decay reached the paws of a suspicious Harry and he let out a loud yipping sound not suitable for a cat, stumbling backwards on all four legs. The short, black hairs on his back rose as he hissed at Naruto, scuttling back even further from the threat. Seeing no other use for this form Harry transformed back into his humanoid body, keeping his demonic appearance to help ease his wary frame of mind.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Harry called back at Inuyasha who was still a safe distance away from the strange, crawling event.

The hanyou didn't answer. He was too busy fighting down an insane urge to laugh as he was struck by the very epiphany he had been waiting for ever since he met Naruto. It was right in front of him the whole time...

The root of this commotion was experiencing an inner turmoil of his own. At first his body and mind had reacted on instinct when pulling him into unity-consciousness, leaving him secretly ecstatic as he was once again enveloped in that addicting sensation of having his very own chakra blanketed by a protective and unmatched power. He was well aware of how he was using it, pulling away the chakra of the surrounding environment, successfully keeping Harry at bay and forcing him to reverse his transformation. But the once caring 'blanket' soon began to smother him. He couldn't stop the flow of power he was taking in, it was filling him up but he didn't have the means, the _skill_, to an outlet—but what bothered him the most was that this was chillingly similar to the time he used legilimency on Inuyasha without meaning to. Once again he was no longer in control of himself.

Harry was already confused by Naruto's strange display of power but his confusion only deepened when it became obvious the ninja wasn't quite comfortable with his situation either. The boy's eyes were still closed but he showed signs of an inner distress; his shoulders had tensed and his bottom lip was caught between his teeth as he struggled against his own mind. He was trapped.

"He can't stop the source of the power."

Harry's heart caught in his throat by the sound of Inuyasha's voice inches from his ear. Inuyasha shot Harry an annoyed look for his lack of attention and went on explaining, "He's grounded himself to the Earth but it's too strong for him..."

"Right," Harry said with finality while holding both his hands strait in front of him, "time to end this. _Exemplum tabula!_"

His blood that he had left scattered around the overseas training grounds from his earlier chain attack came to life, spreading and squiring in the dirt until it connected into a grid-like pattern that stretched for fifty square feet. While this particular spell wasn't offensive it created some sort of supernatural stronghold along the ground that jarred the waves of chakra to a halt, wrenching Naruto out of his meditation.

Naruto blinked a few times when the weight of power was lifted from him, gasping a little and for once thankful that he felt so detached from the planet.

"_Manus manus carpo exuro!_"

The blonde didn't have time to remember that Harry was still his opponent or that he was a sitting duck while standing there, trying to gather his bearings. It was a second too late that he realized that he couldn't move and that all he could feel was an intense heat blistering much too close to his body. He neck still had full mobility and he looked down to see himself gripped tightly between a pair of giant, translucent hands. Each hand was at least twice the size of his body and was composed entirely of a thin sheet of blood. In addition to this, the blood seemed to be at boiling temperature. It burned the sleeves right off his arms and started to disintegrate his clothing at the sides; he could feel his flesh scream in pain as it charred away slowly. For a set of see-through fingers they had a surprisingly strong hold of him.

He glared up at Harry to see the boy had his hands clasped together in front of him. Every time he struggled against the hold the other would only tighten his hands together with an infuriating smirk styled on his face.

"Huh," Inuyasha sounded musingly, seemingly unconcerned with whatever pain his apprentice was experiencing, "I had forgotten about that one. Oh well...match, Potter."

Harry dropped his hands which, in turn, caused the bloodied ones to release Naruto and leaving the boy's clothes burned and bloodstained.

"Never seen that one before," Naruto said tetchily, rolling his sore shoulders. Every time he thought he had the elder hunter beat, Harry would pull off yet another unknown blood magic technique. The man seemed to know hundreds of different Latin-based spells, a near limitless supply of unpredictability to use against Naruto no matter how many times they had fought together.

Harry shrugged unabashed and rubbed his stomach, "I'm hungry. Anyone up for some ramen? No one can stop us over here..."

"Go down to your gate, we'll be there in a minute," Inuyasha replied instead, keeping his eyes trained on Naruto. Naruto didn't know if he should have been worried or not—the look he was receiving could only be described as restless, which left the possibilities open for good and bad reasons.

Shrugging once more Harry left the two alone in the barren piece of land of India.

"Not bad," Inuyasha said to the silent teenager, "you still seem to fear embracing your inner demon—and you know I don't mean the Kyuubi. You could be that much better if you just gave into your instincts; you aren't going to hurt Harry you know."

Naruto flinched at those last words, irritation rising within him, "I know, I'm sorry, I just...even after all this time I feel like I'd be betraying Ero-sennin after all the training we did to hold it back..."

Inuyasha sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, cocking his head to the side and giving Naruto a meaningful look.

"Look, kit, I know you don't want to hear this but you are _not_ human," Naruto opened his mouth and Inuyasha hurriedly continued, "No, you're not a monster or a demon or whatever you think is your only other option. You have no definite place in the world; but that doesn't mean you don't belong in it."

Naruto looked a bit unsure of himself, "I know. I know that I need to stop fighting my other half and just accept what I am."

The older man grinned and reached over to ruffle Naruto's hair—something he found himself doing often.

"Not only that, you have to accept both parts of yourself if you want to progress any farther. I mean, sure, you aren't the epitome of human, but genetics isn't what gets you into the important positions. Sex does."

Naruto face faulted. He realized at that moment, as he lie on his side twitching in the dirt of India, that every one of his sensei's had three things in common: they had white hair, they had so many quirks they could be accurately labeled as insane, and they were shameless perverts.

Picking himself up and glowering at Inuyasha with all the dignity he had left after planting himself in the ground he asked, "Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

Inuyasha's eyes became alight and he smiled widely.

"Not even close. Tell me; are you aware that there are several variations and conceptions of the elements of this world?"

"Uh..." Naruto honestly had no idea where this was going, "I guess..."

Inuyasha smiled fondly at the boy's naivety. "Every culture has its own practices involving their ideal set of elements. For example—in your ninja world I believe you use fire, wind, water, earth, and lightening."

"Well yeah, but sometimes there are others...like wood or...sand I suppose..." Naruto added, trying to help out with whatever point his mentor was trying to make.

"That's exactly my point Naruto...I do believe we've found your other element..." Inuyasha had that completely enlightened look on his face. Because it was at that moment, as Naruto was drawing on the very chakra of the Earth, that it suddenly made sense to him _why_ Naruto wasn't able to open the book, why he was creating unknown phenomena with nature, why his core remained light even throughout the demon's influence...

Naruto, meanwhile, was doing a fabulous impression of a goldfish.

"I—we—what? I have another element—!" he had, of course, always hoped for such a thing. After all, Yamato-sensei had both earth and water, and Sasuke (who he could never stand to let get ahead of him) had both fire and lightning. Gone was his burdened countenance, gone was the troubled youth who worried over things that were not yet in his control. Naruto the hyperactive knucklehead ninja was back and bouncing in circles around Inuyasha. "What? What is it? Is it water? It has to be; it can't be fire or lightning...I've always sucked at those...of course my earth jutsu aren't too shoddy—"

"It's not water," Inuyasha cut in, "or earth."

Naruto stopped moving around and did his signature foxy-squint.

"Eh? But then how—"

"Do you know that there are five principle elements in Japanese philosophy?"

"Well I do now."

Inuyasha grinned at his impertinence, "They are air, fire, water, earth and void, and it is my belief that by coming to this world, you were able to engage your second element.

"Void" Naruto whispered to himself, not recognizing the term but somehow knowing it belonged to him.

"Yes," Inuyasha said serenely, walking back to simple entryway to the underground cavern housing Harry's gate, obviously expecting the youth to follow him. But Naruto was so lost in his own muddled thoughts that he almost missed his parting words.

"…otherwise known as heaven."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Dun dun dun...!

It is all revealed! The truth behind Naruto's weirdness! Inuyasha will be stumped no more! Yeah, this chapter was a lot of inner angst and unhappy thoughts and just a lot of thinking in general—no fun, right?

BUT! I have some good news for some of you impatient toolbags—the next chapter may very well be the last chapter Naruto spends away from shinobi-land, if you catch my drift.

Next thing...if you hadn't noticed this particular chapter might be missing something that I have patented for myself in every chapter I have ever posted—mistakes. That's right people, you aren't hallucinating...I had someone beta this chapter. Madness. So all the prettiness and glaring lack of errors can be attributed to **strider714**. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU MAN!!! (...great...now you're all going to go back and scrutinize it...)

And I shall spread my thanks onto my reviewers and readers who keep me inspired! Mwuah!


	18. The Boys are Back in Town

**Chapter 18**

Sharp, crystallized walls glimmered brilliantly in a spectacle that could rival the northern lights themselves. For the past twenty minutes the Alaskan cavern that hid the seventh Gate of Hell had been filled with a red glow that made ruby sparkles erupt all over every icicle as one of the longest and most complex of rituals went underway. Two figures knelt by a great runic circle with a hefty gold and white scroll unraveled within. The circle was made of a large quantity of blood and turned out to be the source of the glow that managed to illuminate every crack and crevice at hand. Not too far off was a third figure, this one tense with excitement, ready to play his part in the final stages of their creation.

The red shine began to die down as the anticipation rose in equilibrium.

"This is it," Inuyasha said, the exhilaration dancing in his eyes made him seem as young as the other two. "Naruto, the floor is yours."

"Right," Naruto breathed before setting to task; he jumped into the circle, hands already cut and bleeding. Nimble and bloodied fingers were suddenly dancing over the outlaid scroll to produce an intricate calligraphy; his blood mingled with his companions' in a completely different fashion. "Everyone, hands on the scroll when I count to three! One..."

Inuyasha and Harry quickly kneeled on either side of Naruto.

"...Two..."

They poised their arms inches above the scroll, their breaths frozen in their throats, their heartbeats sounding unnaturally loud to their own ears.

"...Three!"

Three sets of hands slammed down on the canvas material before them and within that very second a loud crack sounded and a zap of red energy struck each in the chest, sending each one careening into a different ice covered barrier. The sound of broken china clanging echoed around them as many icicles were lodged loose from the ceiling and shattered around their lolled bodies.

"Holy fucks, ow..." Harry moaned, rubbing the back of his head as he clumsily managing himself back to his feet. The cave was significantly darker without the shine of their experiment; the only light they had to go by was the natural dull-blue hue of the surrounding ice—more than enough for their demonic eyes to handle, "You guys alright?"

"Ugh..."

"Oh sweet, I think I found a penny! Oh, nope...that was a piece of ice...no wonder it was so shiny..."

Harry rolled his eyes at Inuyasha's idiotic announcement and made his way back to where the scroll lay, looking back at him with an innocently blank, white face. It looked exactly as it did before they started the entire process.

"Uh...are you sure this worked?" he asked, turning and raising an eyebrow at Inuyasha who had just walked up behind him. They had modified it a lot compared to the usual summoning scroll for animals.

"Only one way to find out. We need to sign it as well so we can use it, but we'll do that tomorrow before we test this out."

"That was intense," Naruto stated, walking up to the pair while rubbing at his chest where the energy bolt struck, "is it always going to be that complicated for someone who wants to add themselves to this scroll?"

"No," Inuyasha replied while frowning in thought, "I'm not sure this scroll will allow it many more additions. I think we kind of made it a bit picky; it only accepts the extraordinary."

"And what about those that sign it? It will accept more of them, right?" Harry questioned. He had long accepted what he had put himself into; he knew he would have to fight for people for whatever reason they summoned him, to be used as a tool of war. It was nothing new to him.

Inuyasha grinned and bent down so he could roll up the scroll.

"Only those who are pure of heart—corny as it sounds—and with enough power to do so. We don't come cheap," he added with a wink.

Naruto couldn't stop the smile from grabbing hold of his face. He was going home tomorrow. He was going to stop the bijuu and save Konoha and protect his precious people. He knew he was ready; he was powerful enough for the unique scroll they just created to accept him.

'_The tables have turned Akatsuki,' _he thought with self-assurance, _'now I'm the one doing the hunting.'_

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Haruki Goro spent the last forty years tending to the family farm he had inherited from his late father. Living just on the border off Waterfall and Earth country gave the soil just the right amount of nutrients and moisture to produce a healthy crop every year. He was proud to say that his farm had never experienced a drought or famine in all of its existence.

He should have known that all good things must come to an end.

Just as he was carting the last few bails of hay into the shed darkness fell upon him and a rank wind blew hotly on him from above. Large globs of a thick, opaque substance slinked down from above, one hitting the wheel barrel of hay and causing the bedding to darken with the strange moisture.

Had he been trained in any ninja arts he would have sensed the ridiculously large chakra signal long ago. As it were, he could only catch a mere glimpse of two, foul, yellow eyes and a gargantuan jaw full of razor sharp teeth before his life was ended in one, quick chomp.

Goro wasn't the last to die in the quiet village of Housaku that fateful evening, but he was one of the few who were granted a relatively quick death. The four-tailed beast left nothing but stale air in the lungs of the village inhabitants before being sucked under duress back into its sealing where it could further stew on its anger and bloodlust, allowing it to accumulate for the next bout of destruction.

The roars and screams that dragged on through the night could be heard in the neighboring villages, attracting witnesses to spread the news that the reformation of the ninja world as they knew it was underway.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Alright you two, I'll come back here first thing tomorrow morning and make sure you guys have everything you need on your persons before I travel over there to summon you. I don't know how long it will take or if it will even work at all."

"I still think it's ridiculous that you want me to go as well," Harry mumbled dejectedly. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the age-old complaint.

"You know why you have to go. You agreed yourself that it would be a good idea."

"Yeah but do I have to go as—!?"

"Yes," Inuyasha interrupted, "now get to bed. You have a long, fun filled journey ahead of you in a foreign land. And you'll only be speaking Japanese."

He said this last part with a conspiring wink to Naruto, who grinned in turn. Naruto had learned the hard way that a translating spell had been put on him while he was unconscious after being retrieved from Hell. A month into his stay at Harry's he suddenly found weird gibberish breaking into the conversations going on around him. At first he thought there was some lasting damage from the Akatsuki encounter, but after voicing his concern a sheepish Harry admitted to what he had done; the man had a hunch that Naruto would be a unilingual ninja. Inuyasha then forbid Harry from refreshing the spell, saying Naruto needed to learn English for himself as they didn't know how long he would be there. Luckily for the blonde, Japanese was the main language spoke in the Nagasaki household, so he wasn't suddenly cut off from all conversation. With some tutelage from Kagome and lots of practice arguing with Harry and Bridget, Naruto now had a pretty firm grasp on what had to be one of the most unlegislated languages known to mankind.

Harry made a show of pouting and grumbling before trudging off to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Inuyasha patted Naruto on the head a few times, something the other had no say over these days.

"I'll see you tomorrow alright kiddo?"

"Yep!" Naruto bounced off to his bedroom without bothering to see Inuyasha off; the man would come and go as he pleased anyhow. Unlike when he first arrived, his room was no longer drab and characterless. Jeans were strewn across the floor, shirts—some ripped others still bloodied—lay haphazard over furniture, posters of popular bands and artists now adorned the fawn walls. An iPod and a cell phone, both half charged, sat on his dresser—presents from previous holidays and birthdays. He sighed as he looked around, knowing he'd be spending half his morning cleaning before he left for home.

"Excited?" Harry asked from the doorway, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a beater. Naruto, who had just pulled his shirt over his head, gave him a trenchant look.

"Understatement."

"Think you're ready?"

Naruto actually gave the question a bit of thought as he idly brushed some bangs out of his left eye; they were getting so long that they could no longer hold themselves up and he had taken to parting them out of his face.

"I think I am..."Harry nodded, satisfied enough with the reply to call it a night, "but..."

The brunette froze before he had even stepped out from the doorway. He turned slightly so that he could see the conflict reflected in Naruto's usually clear eyes. They were still the unfathomable shade of blue they had always been but the pupil was now a permanent slit, a testament to his demonic inheritance.

"I just feel like there's something I'm missing...something really important that I've overlooked..."

Harry stared at him a moment longer, recognizing that this boy, or young man as he now was, had so much more responsibility than anyone realized. As his friend and guardian, it was Harry's responsibility to help him achieve his goal in anyway he could and one particular article stood out clearly in his mind. He had thought about it many times, of course, but brushed it off for his own personal survival. Now however...

"Don't worry about that just now, we'll figure everything out as it comes to us. For now let's just focus on taking out one bijuu at a time," he said with such confidence that Naruto gave a half-smile and accepted it. Bidding the younger good night, Harry left the room, walking down the dark and empty halls of his apartment. He hadn't given much thought as to what it would be like living in the shinobi world; if he would be camping out every night, or if they would be living in their own type of housing. He figured that if Naruto could adjust to living here, then he could manage to survive over there.

He thought back to what Naruto said...about over looking something important. Harry had his own ideas about what they hadn't worked on with the boy, despite all the intense training he had been dragged through. There were so many theories, so many vague notions as to what could go wrong in their quest to save Naruto's homeland. The boy had power in spades, and experience with using it against demons, but these bijuu were on a whole other level. Would what Naruto had really be enough? Even with him fighting by his side?

As the annoying clock overhead struck eleven Harry Potter made a decision. One that he was not going to run by Inuyasha and one that could have serious consequences if he didn't get the cooperation he needed. He strode to his bedroom with purpose, reached into the bottom drawer of his dresser and pulled out the weighty text that had been his bible for the last ten years. Running his fingers over the rough, pebbled cover he took in every detail knowing it would be the last time the book would ever look like this.

Harry took one deep breath to calm his jittery nerves. Whether he approved or not Inuyasha would kill Harry for this when he found out—and it was doubtless that he eventually would. Shaking the unnerving thoughts loose from his mind and knowing he didn't have time for such doubts, Harry tried to focus on his self-appointed mission. He had a couple of stops to make in Japan and some haggling to do.

It was going to be a long night.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Terror was high in the air in the village hidden in the leaves. One would find it nearly impossible to walk down the streets without hearing whispers of the devastation caused by the first bijuu attack or guesses as to which village would be next. Yuuhi Kurenai had set a brisk pace in hopes to deafen the ominous undertone that nearly suffocated her; she clutched the paper bag filled with groceries tight to her chest as if it were some sort of security blanket. She had left Shikamaru watching Keiji while she did some errands and she didn't want to keep the boy too long from his girlfriend.

She pushed open the door with her hip, tossing the keys on the small coffee table by her knees. Her eyes shaded with wistfulness as she thought of how Shikamaru and Temari's relationship was so like her and Asuma's; the laidback chain-smoker and the take-charge woman. With the Akatsuki now releasing the bijuu on villages, a couple like them could be torn apart at a moments notice.

The sound of crinkling paper made her realize that she had unconsciously begun to squeeze the grocery bag with excess force. The Akatsuki—they had taken away her lover, the father of her child, and now with the power of the bijuu they could take away Keiji as well. Every morning she would wake up, look outside, and feel a strange sense of wonder that the sky was still blue and the village in one piece. Just that thought that they would come and take away everything she loves broke her a little bit more.

"Geez, stop thinking so much about stuff you can't change."

The lazy drawl could only belong to one man. She looked up to see the seventeen-year-old jounin with her seven month old child sitting on his hip. Sarutobi Keiji resembled his father in every way, from the dark brown hair to his chocolate eyes. Said eyes were currently half-closed with exhaustion and his head had fallen into the crook of Shikamaru's neck, the shadow master seeming detached from the fact that there was a dozy babe clinging to his side.

She walked forwards and took the boy off of his hands, Keiji seemed to know instinctively—even with his eyes closed—that he was now in his arms of his mother and his droopy demeanor morphed into a light snooze.

Giving the young man before her a pitying look she elucidated, "You need to understand Shikamaru...Konoha's enemy is no longer just the Akatsuki. Now we must survive against the bijuu. Eight of them to be precise, when just one managed to cause enough tragedy that it lingered for years and years after. Konoha is on the Akatsuki's shitlist, first and foremost because it was our bijuu that got away from them; there's no chance of escaping their wrath."

From the way Shikamaru grimaced it was obvious to any onlooker that this conversation had been held before.

"That may be, but our generation is different from the one during the fourth's time. I wouldn't underestimate us. After all...the will of fire only grows stronger with each passing generation."

The ruby-eyed woman could only sigh with despondency.

"It's not that I underestimate you—believe me, I had three of you as my students—but...everything just seems so hopeless now."

As she said this she stared at her infant child, her future and past furled into one, tiny body. She could loose him, and it would be so quick and unexpected that it would be like he was never there. Or she could be killed, protecting the leaf from whichever bijuu would be sent their way. Keiji would be an orphan, and she would be nothing more than a nameless face left to his imagination. Shikamaru saw the lost look in her eyes as she gazed at her sleeping son in. He could understand her fears and worries; she didn't ever want to feel the pain of loosing a loved one so suddenly again. And she wouldn't if he had anything to say about it, after all, he had made a promise to her nearly two years ago.

"I told you...I would protect Keiji once he was born," he said with such casual confidence that she was startled into facing him once more. Shikamaru's dull expression adopted a small grin, "Come on...aren't I a cool adult yet?"

Kurenai couldn't help but return the smile. Perhaps, as long as the tiniest spark existed in the people's will, nothing was hopeless quite yet.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Well you look like shit."

Harry gave the dog-eared man a good morning middle finger. He was not in the mood right now after only getting two hours of sleep before waking up and being forced to clean up his apartment. He mentally winced as he thought back to all the shit he was pulled through the night before, especially that annoying and stubborn old man...

_'That was a cheap shot,'_ he thought darkly as he brought his hand up to the side of his face where the echo of pain still throbbed.

"What's wrong with your face?"

"Nothing!" Harry yelped quickly, tearing his hand from his face and holding it by his side. Inuyasha gave his obvious cover a dead look that said: 'I could easily find out, but I don't care enough to'.

"Whatever, where's Naruto?" Inuyasha asked, even though he knew the answer. The blonde was only standing a few feet behind him.

"I think you just like to hear yourself talk," the young man grinned, all scrolls and weapons either sealed away on his person or stored in his backpack. Inuyasha swatted at him playfully, an easy dodge for Naruto.

"Look who's talking. Alright, you two got everything?" he received two noncommittal shrugs; the best he could expect from the less than organized youths before him. "Good enough. I'm going to hop on over to kunai-a-go-go land but first...I'm taking your food!"

Inuyasha dashed off to the kitchenette that had kept the boys fed for a year and a half. Harry had his game face on as his groceries were thrown into peril.

"You have your own damn food, asshole!"

"Uh, Harry?"

The indignant semi-demon dropped the irate face and looked strait to his left, not even having to lower his gaze to meet Naruto's eyes.

"Yeah?"

The boy gave a sheepish smile, "Can you take us to Inuyasha's place? I want to say goodbye to everyone..."

Harry nodded, thinking along the exact same lines although both boys had a difference person in mind. Well acquainted with the routine by now, Naruto grabbed onto Harry's shirt—one that was light weight despite the cold November air since Fire country was much warmer than New England—and the pair disappeared in the classic swirl of smoky wisps.

"Thanks Harry," Naruto threw at him the second mahogany cabinets and tiled floors came into view before he sped off towards Kagome's scent. He found her in the office going over some bills, alternating between scribbling in the balance book and riffling through papers.

"Kagome...?"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye but continued working.

"Yeah, hun?"

Naruto approached quietly, keeping his head low and trying to figure out the best way to approach the subject without suspicion.

"Midoriko...she was a really powerful priestess, right?"

The question, asked so innocently, but the subject too far from anything he should be discussing caused her to focus her entire attention on him.

"Yes, she was. Why?"

He seemed to shrink a bit at her directness and it was obvious that he preferred she continue this conversation not looking at him.

"And she created the shikon jewel," he continued, in the same tentative voice he had been using, "after fighting hundreds of demons, right?"

"That's right," Kagome answered, growing more confused. There was a strange look on his face that she couldn't quite name. Gloom? No. And it wasn't regret. What was it?

"And you used that to seal the well..."

Kagome gave a small chuckle, looking at him with exasperation. He was like a mini Inuyasha with all the beating the bush he was doing.

"Just where are you going with this?"

"But you broke the spell with your own powers," he continued, not sharing her light attitude, "Does that mean you're more powerful than she was?"

Kagome was currently displaying the wonderful image of a deer in the headlights. She could not, for the life of her, understand where the hell this was coming from.

"Naruto," she began slowly while feeling highly unsettled at the arbitrariness in his questioning. It wouldn't have bothered her so much if he weren't speaking in such grave tones, "I highly doubt I can compare to her."

Naruto switched topics. "Would you sign the contract?"

'_What!?'_

"Naruto, you are jumping from one crazy subject to the next. Why would you want me to sign the contract? I'll admit I'm powerful in my own right, but I'm not up to you three. Is that what you're trying to say? Are you wondering if I'm powerful enough to join your little project?"

Naruto was halfway through shaking his head in the negative when he stopped and seemed to contemplate the idea.

"In a way, I suppose. But what I really wanted to know how well you could take down a demon."

Relief filled her that she had no idea she coveted. His approach and strange questions had unnerved her and to hear such a simple request made her want to laugh out loud.

"Pretty damn well." She replied dryly, "Why couldn't you have just asked that?"

This is when Naruto's relaxed countenance seemed to edge up again and he began pulling at a loose thread on the end of his sleeve.

"When I defeat the bijuu..."

She had to smile at the 'when'.

"...there will be only one left."

Kagome could have sworn her ribcage and everything in it had turned to ice before the last syllable had left his lips. Her body felt very cold and heavy, her tongue wasn't working as fast as her brain, she couldn't yell out all the things she wanted to in response to everything that he was insinuating. Now that emotion was clear to her, the one that plagued his features and teased her into labeling it. It was resignation.

"No—"

"We need to eliminate them all. I can't take any chances."

"It can stay sealed inside you. You don't have to—"

"The seal is weakened."

"It can be fixed. Harry managed to sustain it for now—"

"The original was the best and it's permanently ruined. There's no going back, you know that."

Kagome could feel her emotions get the better of her and she sprang from her chair, pulling Naruto to her body in a strong embrace.

"Naruto, please don't ask me to do this," she choked out into his shoulder.

"Promise me," he demanded, barely registering the hug. Kagome pulled her face away and looked up at him. He was such a good boy, always so bright and generous. He was growing to be so handsome, he had so much to live for, so much potential.

"We can save you. Let us save you," the tears had broken through the weak resolve she held against them and trickled down her cheekbones. Naruto hated what he was doing to her, what he was asking of her, but he was one of the troika, the three great warriors, and the greater good had become the single most stressed cause in his life.

"_Promise me_."

Kagome then made the grave mistake of looking directly into his eyes; the passionate, electric blue that could melt hearts and inspire dreams with their intensity were zeroing in on her. There was no escaping.

"Fine, I'll sign it. But for the record, it will never come to that. Harry wouldn't allow it."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Inuyasha stumbled a little when he arrived into the shinobi world for the third time. His lungs filled with fresh, pine-scented air that he hadn't had the pleasure of experiencing since his days in the feudal era.

"I think this is getting easier..." he said to himself, shaking off a wave of dizziness. He might be proficient enough with his gate to manage to cross worlds, but next to Harry he was the youngest guardian of Hell's gates. He had only been in charge of his for a couple of centuries, not even half a millennium old yet himself, and compared to the other ancient guardians he was just a child. It was almost laughable, the faces Naruto and Harry made when they were spoken down to; they would never realize how young they really were if they couldn't understand how young Inuyasha himself was.

Shrugging, the hanyou picked up the two foot high scroll and examined the scheme that they had been working on for months. They had all signed their names in blood, just the three of them, so they should be all set for using it. The greatest thing about summoning with this scroll was that it didn't draw on chakra, the required only the density of one's soul. As such, he, Naruto and Harry should not run into any problems with summoning.

"Here goes," he muttered. Piercing the thumb on each hand with fangs, he clasped his hand together in preparation for the first summon.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Bridget sat at a small desk in her room putting the finishing touches on the scroll for her potion's essay. Being a Sunday and no other plans to go out later she was garbed in a simple pair of baggy sweat pants (which she might have stolen from Harry at one point) and a tight cami. Her thick hair was held together loosely by an elastic band and thrown over her shoulder, curls spilling out and framing her face. A light knock sounded at her door.

"Yeah," she called, scribbling down the last sentence of her concluding paragraph. She had spent the entire weekend on it and would be glad to be finished with it. Her door opened and in stepped the lean figure of her certain future mate, his piercing green eyes staring intently back at her through his tinted lenses. Even after twelve years the sight of him could still make her heart skip a beat or two.

"Hey," she said, standing from her seat and leaving the two last words unwritten, "what's up?"

He smiled at her, a soft one that he sometimes held special for her, and shut the door behind him.

"Hey," he replied. There was a short silence where it looked like he was struggling to find what he wanted to say. She waited patiently; it was rare for him to seek her out for something serious, let alone keep such a mellow attitude and shut them into a room for privacy. She tried very hard to keep her breathing regular and her cheeks from blushing.

"Do you know where your dad is right now?"

Bridget could feel her face fall with disappointment. He put her through all that only to ask where her father was? Suddenly feeling quite put out, she turned her back on him and sat down to finish her essay.

"No, I haven't seen him," she said airily, dipping her quill in the ink a couple times to make herself seem more busy.

"He's in the shinobi world."

Her hand paused over the parchment in front of her, not understanding why he was in her room, talking to her in such a delicate tone about her father's whereabouts. She had waited for years for him to speak to her as he was now and it wasn't for any romantic reason at all. Drawing up all irrational reasons to not look at him, she focused closely on that last sentence of her paper.

"If you knew then why did you ask?" she said while writing slowly, carefully, filling up space and time. She only got one more word written down before her quill was forcefully stalled by the large, warm and rough hand that was currently holding her own. Restraint be damned, Bridget's face could rival every stoplight she ever ran.

"He's going to be summoning me to the shinobi world soon," he said and his low tones, just inches from her ear, made her realizes that he was hovering closely over her, the back of her head touching against his chest. "I could be gone for a really...long time..."

Bridget turned her head slightly with her breath coming out in shallow waves. Harry had shifted so that his head was right at her level; he seemed to be struggling on where to look and an embarrassed color started to make its way across his cheeks.

"You're leaving?" she whispered, her eyes falling to his lips that were only inches from her own. She should have felt worse than this—Harry was leaving her after all—but the knowledge that all she had to do was lean forwards had scrambled all rationality. It was all she had to do...

Harry swallowed after seeing the desire in her lustrous golden eyes. He didn't know what had gotten into him as of late, all he knew was that he had to see Bridget before he left and there was just something unpleasant about the thought of not seeing her for an indiscriminate period of time. She was beautiful to him and he didn't even know when she had become so, she smelled so nice and his inner demon was calling for her, he just wanted to touch those soft, pink lips with his own. His head moved on it own accord a fraction of an inch before a sudden panic overtook him and he shot to his feet, backing up a safe distance to clear his head.

Bridget stared at him pacing about her floors looking lost and bewildered and stood up herself. She knew it must be weird for him to make any advances on her when he had been holding off her own for so many years. It started out with 'you're too young' or 'you're insane' and gradually progressed to 'maybe in a couple years', up until now when it was 'we can go out for lunch'.

With a gentle smile and affectionate eyes, Bridget approached the confused man, stopping his pacing by placing one hand on his wrist and another to reach up and caress his face. Harry looked dumbstruck down at her, perhaps even a little apologetic.

"Come back alive, you got that?" she murmured sensitively, cupping his lightly weathered skin with her soft palm. "You know I'll be waiting."

Her words, coupled with the tenderness in which she was looking at him, drove Harry to wonder what he had ever done to deserve a woman as beautiful and strong and loyal as she was.

Everything before him seemed to click into place and his final decision was made in that exact moment. The next thing Bridget Nagasaki knew was that every dream, hope and yearning she ever held for Harry Potter came to life right on her very mouth.

His lips were every bit as warm and refined as she imagined them to be, alternating between parting and responding and convening with her own in a dexterous game. His height was a perfect match for her five foot five frame; she had to lean her head back and lift her heels a bit but there was no chance of straining herself. Everything about him was perfect, everything about _this_ was perfect.

The long overdue kiss had started out soft enough but true to both impulsive individuals it quickly became far more relentless as the pair began to fall into each other more and more. Bridget was trying to remain standing, something she found especially difficult when her legs threated to give out at the feel of Harry's tongue raking across her bottom lip. His arms had pulled her powerfully against his body and she could feel his own body shudder against hers.

She had been dying to feel him embrace her like this; as a man would embrace a woman; as lovers embrace. She was on cloud nine, lightheaded and fast falling all at once.

She was suddenly kissing air.

Literally.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Ugh...that hurts..." Naruto winced, rubbing at his chest where he felt like he had been struck by a sledge hammer. One minute Kagome was smothering him with her overemotional goodbye and then next thing he knew it was like a cold claw gripped tightly onto his torso and he was yanked away from everything he knew.

"Well, well... it looks like we did something right after all. Welcome home kiddo."

The shaky pain was gone and the clouds from his mind cleared as the statement hit him full force.

"I'm...I'm..." his eyes were outrageously wide as his head swiveled left and right, trying to take in and fully comprehend where he was. After fifteen months...he was finally home...

Inuyasha could see the explosion coming a mile away judging by Naruto's trembling jaw and tense shoulders and his fluffy dog-ears had flattened themselves to his skull in preparation.

"WHOOHOO!!!" the blonde screamed, jumping several feet into the air and declining to return to earth. He began to dance around in the air, pumping his fists, kicking around, performing handsprings all over the sky as though a giant plane of glass had been installed above the tree lines.

"FUCK YEAH! I'M BACK! YOU HEAR THAT YOU AKATSUKI BASTARDS?! UZUMAKI NARUTO IS BACK AND HE'S BAD!!!"

"Alright Bad Boy, why don't you come down here and summon your partner in crime," Inuyasha called up to him with an amused undertone. Still grinning maniacally, Naruto descended to the ground right next to the silver haired man, nipping at both his hands in preparation for the summon.

"Sure thing!" he responded, landing in a crouch and slamming both hands on the ground. As a testament to the sheer amount of blood magic in its foundations the Latin words were spoken: "_Phasma Vir Voco!_"

A thick black smoke billowed out of the runic circle that had spread beneath his heads. It rose about six feet before twisting out of existence, quickly producing a steadily clearing image of one Harry James Potter, looking flushed and breathing heavily with shining bruised lips.

"What the hell were you doing?" Naruto asked with blunt glee. There was only one thing going through his mind and it wasn't too far from the truth.

"Why do you smell like my daughter?" Inuyasha growled with quite a bit less indifference.

Harry's face grew, if possible, even redder as Naruto's hoots and howls constructed the background noise and he hastily wiped at his mouth.

"Um...well, you see it's like this—er..."

"Shut up, I don't want to know," Inuyasha said with an aggravated sigh. He knew it was long coming, but he didn't really want to acknowledge it. Now though, it looked like he would have no choice. "Moving on, this is where I leave you boys. I'll leave the scroll with you incase—"

"No."

Inuyasha and Harry both stared at Naruto for interrupting and defying their direct instructions.

"And why not?" Inuyasha asked genially.

Naruto took a breath, "I want Kagome to sign it. She said she would."

Harry's eyebrows raised another notch at this tidbit of information while Inuyasha merely frowned and narrowed his eyes at both Naruto and Harry.

"You know, between you and Harry there's been a lot of sneaking around behind my back lately," the younger hunters both stiffened with nervousness under his scrutiny for their own separate reasons. Inuyasha's stern look swiftly broke with a wide grin, "I am so proud of you two! Alright, I'll keep it with me for now then. Now, since we can't afford to have unnecessary attention brought our world...Harry, if you will?"

Not believing his luck at Inuyasha completely bypassing whatever questions he had to his covert activates, Harry didn't hesitate to transform into his animagus form. The sleek black cat waved his silver-tipped tails about and used his hind leg to scratch at the fluffy main of hair at his neck.

"Travel size, please."

The fearsome beast glowered at Inuyasha in a most affronted manner but did as he was told. A second later the giant Hell-cat was gone, only to be replaced by a much, much tinier version, barely standing past Naruto's ankles.

"Don't worry Harry, I'll take good care of you," Naruto said merrily, scooping the unwilling kitty into his embrace and scratching behind his triangular ears. Harry enjoyed the feeling of being pet too much to continue his huffy attitude and allowed himself to relax in Naruto's arms.

"That settled then?" Inuyasha asked unnecessarily. He lingered on the image of his two apprentices standing (well in Naruto's case) before him and preparing to save an entire world on with nothing but their own power and nerve. It would be so easy for him to just go with them, but there were some things that a person had to do alone, and for Naruto this was it. "I'll be seeing you, take care of yourselves alright?"

"We will," Naruto replied with equal acquiescence. He was back where he belonged now, but why did it still hurt to know that Salem was no longer his home?

"And don't forget to feed him," the hanyou added, addressing the kitten-sized demon that Naruto currently held. Naruto looked down at him; Harry looked up with his big, almond-shaped, emerald eyes that reflected pure bewilderment.

Naruto knew Inuyasha was no longer in that world before he looked back up—his aura-based presence had vanished. Who knew when he might see him again; who knew if he ever would see Bridget or Alaina or Kouga or Caleb? There was a very real chance that he would never hand in his reports late to Diane or trek mud through his and Harry's apartment or swim in the Nagasaki's pool. It seemed his life in the reinstated Era had come to an end.

He heaved a great sigh that both got rid of his already building nostalgia as well as brought in motivation for the task at hand.

"Okay! You ready Harry? Konoha, here we come!"

But before Naruto could take the first step southbound a loud, terrifying roar sounded in the distant north and the unmistakable aura of a youkai flashed into existence. Naruto stared at the source of calamity and looked back down at Harry for a third time. Even as a cat Harry was able to convey his opinion through a demanding stare.

"Right," he sighed with unenthusiastic acceptance, already knowing the obvious answer. Without looking back he set off at a high speed in the opposite direction of Konoha

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Go ninja, go ninja, go! Ahem...

Right, so Naruto is back in the shinobi world, but he has some ass kicking to do before he meets any of the old gang. He's gotta make a name for himself first! ;P

Yes—there was lots of foreshadowing in this chap. Ooooh, ominous...

Sadly there may not be an update next week—I am so swamped with work I want to cry. Damn education.

Once again, **strider714** deserves the utmost thanks for fixing this bad boy up. Gracias senor!

Next Chap: bijuu demotion!!!

Thanks for the reviews! Let me know what cha think.


	19. The Wind Runner

**Chapter 19**

Zetsu was not a happy camper. He had spent the better part of an hour crouching in the tall elephant grass and observing the unsuspecting ninja village of Kusagakure from a distance. The village that was once his home looked exactly as it had the day he left it, and just as it was on that day, he still felt nothing but contempt for it. Fortunately for him and his impatience a little buzz went off in his right ear, signaling the end of his torturous wait.

_"We're ready, be prepared."_

The black side of his face had an unnaturally stretched and sharp-toothed grin while his white half merely held a satisfied smirk. He reached into an inner cloak pocket and pulled out a large piece of granite sculpted into a replica of one of the nine eyeballs found on the Akatsuki's bijuu container. It was surprisingly light for its size; it took both his hand to hold it securely. The lid was peeled back and the pupil stared blankly back at him.

He speculated on what the rest of his organization was doing back at their headquarters at this very moment. If he was correct then right now they should all be on their respective finger, meditating and focusing all their power on opening the third eye from the top left. Just as he was picturing this happening in his mind, the imitation eyeball that was resting in his palms began to glow. The white light concentrated to where the pupil was and the plant-like man hurriedly shined it towards the village only a couple kilometers away.

As the ray of the light continued to widen, a great, dark shadow started to take form. It rose several dozen feet in the air until the top of its shell was at least two tree-height's high. The damp soil sunk dangerously low under the immense weight of the demon. Three, skinless tails flayed the land behind it, spraying mud and uprooting grass.

Zetsu stowed the now dormant eye-stone back into his robes and made sure to hide himself from the detection of the bijuu so that the Sanbi no Youko would not sense his presence. Hiding his chakra signal was easy enough, especially from a Bijuu—a result of never have a jinchuuriki host.

The beast lifted its beak-like snout into the air, immediately spotting the innocent human village and releasing a bone-shilling roar. The scent of flesh and blood was all the incentive it needed to begin its blood reign. It was with thundering strides that the beast reached the village in seconds.

Seconds was all the guards of the Hidden Grass Village needed to sound the alarm. Ninja of every rank flanked to the perimeters of the city while civilians were evacuated as quickly as possible. People were already screaming with terror long before the demon had landed its first blows. The first waves of defenders were quick to discover that nearly all weapons were useless against such an awesome force of power. Kunai and shuriken of all metals and sizes seemed to merely bounce harmlessly off its shell, swords and arrows barely left a scratch on the skin, and anyone unfortunate enough to get close enough to touch it was killed instantly—either by being crushed by its webbed claws or shredded by its terrible incisors or incinerated by the intensity of the demonic chakra.

"Shit! We're going to be demolished!" one chuunin cried as he watched three building get razed to the ground by one tail.

"Shut up!" a nearby jounin growled. He had just sent of a water-based jutsu that did little more than annoy the Sanbi. "We're not like that other village, we're a ninja village! As long as we have people willing to fight we still stand a chance!"

Several surrounding ninja gave murmurs of approval in between dodging and jutsu. The battle had been ongoing for little more than ten minutes and already the Sanbi had made it a half-mile into the city, destroying everything in its path. The streets were quickly filling with bodies and rubble and the fighting spirit of the grass ninja was increasingly becoming strained.

The beast's annoyance had reached its peak when a stray kunai scratched its eye. The Sanbi proceeded to let loose another earsplitting roar as raised one of its fin-like legs. The massive appendage bore down on a huddled group of civilians and shinobi—the latter of which were in the process of escorting the innocents out of harm. Screams from the victims and onlookers were deafening as the weight of the monster descended on the terrified mass of humans.

However, half way down on the path to kill, the limb was stopped in midair as a blur of beige cut through the webbing of the foot, nearly severing it in half and showering those below with thick, malodorous, black blood.

The screams of the demon were ignored by everyone present; even the ninja had paused in their battle to protect their village as the object slowed enough on its rebound to be identified as a large and gleaming boomerang. An enormous black cat with two tails leapt into view and the individual riding on its back caught the weapon with ease.

Time sped up again as the mysterious savior rode through the air on the mystical looking creature. Due to the height at which he rode coupled with his speed, nothing much could be distinguished from the rider other than that he was a male and that he had blonde hair—a rare enough trait in those parts to be effortlessly remembered.

The man held onto the mane of cat hair with one hand and reared the other back before launching another whipping attack with the boomerang. This time the sleek instrument cut deep across the demon's throat and shoulder. The Sanbi shrieked once more in unearthly tones and backed up enough fall out of the perimeters of the village, splashing blood along the way. The wounds were healing rapidly, but the demon was still stunned into forgetting about its self appointed task.

"Look—!" one younger ninja exclaimed, "he's driving it back!"

And in that moment hope flared once more in the village of Kusagakure.

The onlookers screamed as the mystery man back-flipped off of the cat, the fall—one of hundreds of feet in the air—would surely kill him, ninja or not. It was with great surprise that they watched the man drop no more than twenty feet, becoming eye level to the Sanbi, before stopping in mid air as though he were standing on an invisible plane of glass.

The boomerang had returned to its wielder, sending him sliding several feet back with the force of the catch but not lowering his altitude in the slightest. Back on the ground the screams had officially turned to cheers.

Naruto's heart was hammering as he did his best to ignore the carnage below him that had happened before he arrived. He was facing his first bijuu and it was lucky for him that it was only the Sanbi—a good warm up for what was to come. He figured he could tear into the demon once or twice more with Hiraikotsu before he would have to start on some stronger attacks. After all, there was only so much his Hiraikotsu could do with the unique demonic chakra sealing up every gash and wound he inflicted. It was clear that power-based attacks were the only chance of managing any lasting damage.

As he was contemplating his next move the Sanbi had begun to shuffle around while letting off low growls and hisses. Naruto laughed as he could see Harry having his own fun with the bijuu; the demon was now stomping on the ground, trying the crush the annoying, smaller demon that was playfully nipping at its feet.

Shrugging, he figured he might as well take advantage of the distraction Harry was providing him with.

Concentrating on the soles of his feet he shot forwards, alternating powering each foot and gliding forwards at speeds faster than any tree-jumping would allow.

"He's f-f-flying!" someone shouted loudly from the ground, but the cheers only grew louder. Smirking, Naruto shot to the side just as an irritated Sanbi's paw swiped down on him; the beast was fast but Naruto was faster, especially in the air. Naruto dodged and spun and flipped and swerved around the three tails that had focused all their attention on killing him, pleasing the crowd with his antics. A loud growl—one that did not belong to the Sanbi but to Harry—warned Naruto to stop fooling around.

"Alright, alright," he grinned and pushed himself backwards enough to give him good leverage, "Hiraikotsu!"

The crafted demon bone—now rippling with an empowered red glow of demonic cutting chakra—was launched at a distance that was far enough to pick up speed but also close enough to manage to completely dismember two of the three tails. Before the Sanbi had realized what had happened the still trouncing appendages crashed to the ground. The bloody stumps attached to the back end of the conk-like shell were inhibited from recovering due to Naruto's equally potent chakra.

"Ha ha! You have now been demoted to Ichibi!" Naruto cackled loudly. A few of the more experienced ninja that were perched on the higher buildings close to the action could hear this and laughed along with him.

The villagers and ninjas were wild with the sheer incredibleness of what was happening before them. One single man had done more damage to the bijuu than an entire village-worth of ninja could. Up above, Naruto did his own personal victory dance before catching the Hiraikotsu and storing it into a scroll.

The Sanbi was absolutely livid at this point; it was suffering pain by the hand of a mere half-breed. Oh yes, it could sense that this creature was nothing more than a hanyou—the disgusting stench of a human and demon mixture secreting from it. It wanted to kill him, to crush him until the weak skin broke and torrents of its innards would flow out from underneath its claws.

Naruto knew that he could no longer afford to goof around with the demon when it began to focus all of its horrific killing intent on him alone. Its speed seemed to double and it took all the concentration of a ninja to keep dodging the powerful swipes of its webby arms. One good hit from those and Naruto knew he would be out of the game. He slid to the right, swerved to the left, and finally stood his air at one point; he lifted his hand, gathering and engaging his wind chakra to cut the left arm of the demon clean down the middle, from the tip of its center claw to halfway down the limb. The green, lifeless remains fell to either side of him.

The creature, infuriated, took a deep, audible breath and then blasted a wide jet of some sort of acidic substance. Naruto, in a graceful and almost dance-like motion, waved his arms before him in a wide circle with his palms facing forwards. A reverberating ripple of air was produced and sent forward, meeting the spray head on. The attack was sent on the rebound, exploding into a thousand droplets of acid that then fell victim to gravity. While Naruto was spared he realized that everyone below was now in danger.

"Aw, shit—!"

He released his hold on the air beneath his feet and took a nose dive downward, using aerodynamics to the best of his ability to beat the acidic matter. The second he fell past the deadly rain he twisted his body while still upside down, spinning his arms around to speed up the rotation. A fan like effect occurred and the wind seemed to blow outwards from the body of the boy, propelling the hundreds of hazardous beads far off in all directions, and away from the humans below. Satisfied that the villagers were safe for the time being, Naruto flipped himself upright and caught his weight only thirty feet above the ground.

The demon roared and dived forward, intent on swallowing the pest whole, but was stopped as a powerful jaw clamped down on its hairless throat, its skin pierced easily and the arteries punctured by the poisoned, ivory fangs of a nekomata.

It was distracted enough to not even notice that the annoying half-breed was no longer in front of it or that two more of them had poofed into existence. It only sensed the added chakra signatures when a more sinister, threatening chakra became present right at the pinnacle of its shell. It would have turned its head but the vice-like grip of the Hell-cat limited its movement. It thrashed its remaining tail desperately at the commotion on its back but it only managed to strike the shadow clones who had already served their purpose.

Standing on the back of a bijuu would have been impossible for any human due to the exposure to demonic chakra, but to Naruto it was like standing on top of a heater—a pleasantly warm experience. Though such a luxury was not to be had in the heat of battle; he had leapt into the air, just narrowly avoiding the blind strike made by the Sanbi. In his hand, swirling proudly in a dazzling mixture of white, blue and purple was the completed form of the Rasenshuriken. Months of increasing his chakra capacities and improving his regenerating abilities had allowed him to use the S-class technique as often as he needed to perfect it.

"Mommy, it's so pretty," a little girl whispered to her mother from the sanctuary of a stand.

"That's not natural," a wizened ninja spoke with a hint of a tremor in his voice, "That's more chakra than I've ever seen a single being possess let alone use in one jutsu. This kid can't be real."

Naruto stretched his right arm over his head in one climatic moment before throwing it down directly at the thick shell many meters below him. The Rasenshuriken could now live up to its namesake; the four-pointed spectacle soared through the air, spinning faster than the Hiraikotsu ever did when launched. It crashed into the demon, slicing through the shell like warm butter and entering all the way through to the belly. Harry had the good sense to release the foul-tasting flesh from his mouth and sprinted away before Naruto had even released the attack.

The Sanbi parted that world with one reverberating howl, so loud that Naruto, who was now at a ridiculous height, had to cover his ears. The Rasenshuriken tore the beast apart from the inside out; once the spinning had come to a stop the compacted, demonic energy exploded and the billions of incorporated wind strikes sent the remains of the Sanbi out for miles in every which way.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Not too far off, standing among the weeds and managing to look dumbstruck and mortified all at once was the rogue ninja who had once resided in the village that was inconveniently _still standing_.

"Oh shit...this isn't good..." Zetsu whispered to himself, glancing down at his hands were the crumbled remains of the replica eye lay, having died along with the bijuu. He didn't even want to imagine what had happened to the real eye back at the lair. Nevertheless, it was a given that Pein already knew what had happened just now and for that he was glad he was _not_ currently in that cave.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Kusagakure was silent for all of three seconds as the citizens, ninja and civilian alike, all dripping with demon blood and guts, tried to take in what had just happened. Before a single victory cry could be uttered, the hallowed remains of the body did something no human within that village had ever witnesses a corpse do before. It began to steam and melt, decomposing right before their very eyes until all that was left was bloody residue and bones.

"Harry!" Naruto called sharply, his voice sounding so much louder in the stunned silence. Everyone then came to realize that the boy was standing only feet away from the bones. The twin-tailed beast hopped to its feet and bounded over to the blonde, not even slowing down as Naruto threw himself on its back, and took off into the sky. Two thousand pairs of eyes could only stare at the fading black dot in the horizon.

One last bout of stunned silence fell about the residents of Kusagakure before reality seized them.

"Who the hell was that?!" someone finally screamed out as a greater commotion broke through. People were crying and laughing, hugging and kissing, shouting and praising and cursing. The dead had to be counted, hundreds of injuries had to be treated, and reconstruction that would last years were to be taken underway. But despite all this nearly every face bore a smile.

"Did you see that guy? One guy just took out that huge demon! I can hardly believe we're still alive!" Someone else yelled out, his hand still shielding his eyes against the sun as he peered for one last glimpse of the man.

"I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it," another laughed with relief, "Where did he go?"

"I dunno, he just vanished...like he was some sort of ghost or something..."

"More like guardian angel..."

"Hey...he was flying wasn't he? Maybe he is an angel!"

"No...it was more like he was running on air..."

"...running with the wind..."

The gossiping in the salvaged village lasted well into the night and into the next day and on through several weeks afterwards. News spread fast throughout the lands that a single individual had taken on a bijuu by himself and defeated it. It was known that he had gold hair and rode on a giant black cat with two tails and could stand among the clouds. They said he could control the wind and wielded as much chakra as any demon could.

They called him the Wind Runner.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Not bad for your first bijuu I'd say," Harry grinned, snatching up a stick of dango Naruto had purchased earlier. He sat cross-legged on the lone double-bed the boys had no problem sharing for the night. Naruto had walked into the shoddy hotel they found in a discreet nameless village up in wind country and entered the establishment with a tiny Harry perched on his shoulder. To keep up the appearance that he was alone he purchased a single room in which Harry immediately returned to a human state before throwing up some basic privacy shields.

Naruto rubbed under his nose with his forefinger in a sheepish gesture. He was sprawled out on his side of the bed with his legs stretched before him.

"Ah, I was lucky it was just the Sanbi. Plus I heard from Ero-sennin that it never had a jinchuuriki; it was never able to control its full power anyway."

"Since when are you so modest?" Harry commented before taking another bit of the sticky sphere. He was really starting to like this stuff.

Instead of replying Naruto simply shrugged with a half smile before fiddling around with his half eaten dango stick. Harry found this concerning enough cease his own eating. Since when did Naruto not wolf anything down?

"What's up?" he asked.

Naruto lifted his gaze from the ratty comforter and sighed as he turned it instead to the stained window. He could barely make out the dim lights that kept the street lit.

"I guess its just...I mean we're heading in the opposite direction of Konoha right now and..." he took a steadying breath, "after seeing that village and what it looked like as the Sanbi attacked it...I don't want it to come to that for Konoha. But at the same time...being back here just—it makes me want to see everyone again so bad."

It was true. Everywhere he looked only served to take him back to some memory involving Ero-sennin and his training trip or Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan and their missions together. If only he could just see them once before he had to fight the next bijuu, if anything just to negate his own fears, to make sure that they were handling themselves alright through these hard times.

"I know what your thinking," Harry spoke up, his voice slow with significance, "But I think we should focus on getting the bijuu out of the way first, your social needs can wait."

Naruto clamped his eyes shut in frustration, hearing what he needed to hear, but not wanting to anymore for it.

"Yeah I—you're right. I mean, it's probably better to get rid of the bijuu first and then go back...everyone will be safe that way. It's only a matter of time before the Akatsuki realize it's me and start sending their agents after me again. It's probably safer to be away from Konoha for now."

Even as he said it a part of his heart was contracting in protest, but a much larger part of his mind felt better for it. This was exactly what he needed to admit out loud: a general outline of what needed to be done.

"So the plan is we just hunt all these motherfuckers down," Harry said while sounding strangely pleased, "No governments, no rules and regulations, no damn reports. Just a big fucking free-for-all. It's like the apocalypse all over again, but no one's pressuring us to save them. This...this is going to be bloody fantastic!"

"Yeah, except these are bijuu, not demons. Just wait until we get to the Shichibi or Hachibi." Naruto almost couldn't believe the direction this conversation was going; it sounded like he was playing the roll of the responsible one.

Harry was shaking his head and wild grin. It may have been the shoddy lighting of the room, or the exhaustion from the earlier battle settling in, but in that moment he resembled Inuyasha in a way.

"Who cares? Don't' you get it!?" the wizard laughed, his eyes sparkling, "The bijuu are like the Italian mafia...and we're the fucking boondock saints!"

A slow smile adopted Naruto's face as he tried to comprehend what Harry was talking about before laughing himself. Harry suddenly frowned in thought.

"Too bad we don't have any rope..."

"No," Naruto grinned wickedly, "but we have a cat!"

Harry gave him a flat humorless look which Naruto wasted no time in waving off.

"I get what you're saying about our situation...it is pretty cool isn't it?"

"We're fucking cool," Harry declared with finality, "besides, whether they find out who you are or not, I'm fairly sure they'll try to do in you just out of principle. I mean, you _did_ just ruin their plans to instill fear in the hearts of the people or whatever crap you spewed at me earlier."

Naruto whacked him with the sauce-stained dango skewer, "I know you want to have fun but you still have to take this seriously. I will command you back into your cat form if you don't behave."

"Like you could," Harry scoffed, "I'm not your damn pet. If anything you'd be mine!"

"What? You wish!"

Harry smiled sweetly at him.

"Remember when we first met you? Inuyasha said I could keep you, remember?"

"Th-that—he was joking you idiot!" Naruto stammered, his face darkening for whatever reasons. Harry leaned forward and slapped the infamous dark whiskers a couple times in good humor before doing the most uncharacteristic thing Naruto had ever seen him do. He started singing.

"You're a baby fox kit, short and stout!"

Naruto was left sputtering with bewilderment.

"Hey! I'm not short or stout!"

"Here is your tail and here is your...fangs!"

"Holy crap, you are spending _way_ too much time with Inuyasha—"

"When you get all frisky, we hear you shout:"

"Seriously Harry, you do not have a future on Broadway—"

_"Just bend me over and—"_

"Harry—!!!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"How much for these zinnias?"

"That would be 3500 yen, please."

"Alright, you have a good holiday miss."

"Thank you, you too sir, come again!"

The bell overhead chimed for the last time that day and Yamanaka Ino sighed with well-anticipated reprieve. The holidays were always a busy time for the family business; flowers were needed for 'I love you's and 'forgive me's and 'thank you's and any other kind of unspoken message out there.

She pulled the back strings of her slightly soiled apron loose and lifted the purple garb over her head. Her lower back ached from standing on her feet all day but she was still pleased with the revenue her family was taking in. For quite some time after the war started she feared they would go out of business; people were anxious about walking the streets or staying out for too long after the first bijuu attacks. Business for any company at that point in time was looking bleak.

But ever since this Wind Runner showed up life in most areas of the world had returned to a relatively normal rate. Just hearing the name could make even ninjas relax their stance a little; she and her friends had a much lighter workload compared the tense period before. He was the world's newest hero and personally she felt he deserved the title. After all, how else would you describe one man who not only could destroy a bijuu, but four in-counting, and still lived to tell about it. Not even the Yondaime was able to completely demolish one of these hellish creatures the way this Wind Runner did, and he was considered one of the strongest ninjas to date—even by other nations! To add to this character, he didn't behave like he was some glory hog, only doing this all for fame or money. The Wind Runner never stuck around after saving a village; he just came and went like a phantom with very few credible accounts as to what he really looked like. He was the enigma that found his way into most idle conversations even after nearly two months of bijuu slaying.

Ino sighed and folded her apron, storing it into the closet in the back of their store. She had a feeling that there was something she should realize about this man...there was something almost familiar about how he was described...gold hair, slight build, as much power as a bijuu...

The horrible, annoying chime of that damn bell caused her already stiff back to seize up. She forgot to turn the 'closed' sign again, hadn't she?

"Hey piggy, I thought you got off an hour ago?"

Her shoulders sagged with the relief that it wasn't another customer.

"Did the weight of that forehead crush your brain or something? You know we're open longer this time of year," she shot back, now facing the three kunoichi she grew up fighting along side with.

Over the years the more outspoken members of their girly-club had done their best to coax Hinata out of her safety cocoon. They knew that underneath all the blushing and the fidgeting was power and grace and one hell of a rocking body! The upcoming eighteen-year-old before her revealed the fruits of their labor.

Hinata's blue-black hair rested against the length of her back in a long plait, keeping her bangs and the two, long face-framing strands as they always were. She had filled out beautifully; the tight bandages wrapped around the waist of her soft, beige turtleneck enhanced her already sizable bust. On her legs she wore the style of dark capri pants that she had her whole life.

Tenten, true to her nature, kept her trademark buns and continued to sport the same Chinese-styled clothes. This time her hour-glass figure was shown off instead of the more tomboyish approach she had in the past. She was now garbed in a form-fitting, high-collared, green dress with three-quarter sleeves and gold trimming. It came down to just above her knees, a slit on the both thighs allowed free movement for throwing projectiles.

Sakura had continued to wear her medium-length hair up in a French twist, giving her pale neck a slim and elegant look. She had a longer, leaner look compared to the other girls. Her chest wasn't quite as busty but nothing to scoff at either. Her advantage lie in the long shapely legs she showed off with her favorite black, open-toed, heeled boots and short grey skirt—only half of which could be seen under her unique top. The crimson shirt she sported was reminiscent of the sleeveless red vest she wore in her chuunin days. The v-neck stretched down further, showing off her collarbone, and the entire left side of the "shirt" wrapped down around her body like a half-dress, covering the left side of her skirt, curving around her knee, and pulling up around the back to her right hip. She continued to wear her gloves all the time, though her new ones now covered most of her forearms.

They were some of the hottest female ninja Konoha had to offer and they knew it. Ino certainly had no qualms in flaunting it. She had started to leave her hair down most of the time, now holding it back on one side with a pair of hairclips. She continued to wear her favorite purple color; her shirt was made out of a lighter material manufactured in lightening country. It was held up by one wide strap over her right shoulder and tied off in a knot just under her the left side of her ribcage, exposing her firm midriff to all. She also wore a purple mini skirt—a good deal shorter than Sakura's—overtop fishnet leggings that came down to mid-calf. On each arm was a black arm brace filled with poisoned darts.

"So what's the occasion?" the blonde asked.

"Um, we're going to Chouji's to meet up with everyone? Remember?" Sakura said with the tone that suggested Ino had just asked a very stupid question. Ino gave a small gasp and slapped her hand to her forehead.

"Damn, I knew I forgot about something...I should go freshen up first."

"You look beautiful Ino-san," Hinata commented quietly.

"Yeah, you look fine," Tenten said with more impatience; she was already walking out the door, "Besides...I want to tell you girls the latest on the Wind Runner."

As if by some greater force the three young women found themselves racing out of the Yamanaka flower shop.

"So—?!"

Tenten smiled deviously, "They say he just took on the five-tailed dog demon and won."

"The five tails!" Sakura exclaimed. She immediately knew what that meant, and apparently Hinata did as well for the heiress soon voiced those implications.

"That's the most powerful he's fought yet!" she breathed with fractional disbelief, "that would mean he's on par with at least five tails of demonic chakra!"

Tenten was nodding, enthused, "But that's not all. Apparently he was injured—or his cat was—I wasn't too clear on the details...anyway, the point is he got some help getting fixed up by the locals."

"You mean people saw him up close and personal?" Ino whispered conspiringly, her turquoise eyes glittering, "they actually talked to him?"

"Yep!"

"And? What does he look like?" Sakura prodded hungrily, not feeling remotely silly for succumbing to such gossiping. She was curious damnit!

"Well...I don't know..."

The three other girls face faulted from the casual reply.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?!" Sakura bellowed in a most lady-like fashion, advancing on the weapons mistress.

**Cha! Who do you think you are? Stringing me along like that?!**

Tenten backed away from the angry medic-nin with her hands held before her in a peace offering. See could see Hinata and Ino behind her looking equally disgruntled.

"Now hold on there. I didn't hear much more than that, certainly not any good details. But I do know some things!"

"Like...?"

"Well, they say he's just a kid—"

"A kid?" Ino interposed while making a face.

"Well young anyway," the brunette corrected, "Not older than twenty."

"So he's our age?" Hinata suggested.

"I also heard he's really hot," Tenten grinned. Sakura gave her an annoyed look.

"You heard that because you wanted to hear that..."

"No, it's true, I swear!"

"So he's our age, all powerful and cute..." Ino surmised, counting off on her fingers. She gave a coquettish giggle, "I think I'm in love!"

Her pink-haired best friend faltered a bit in her step—something that didn't go unnoticed by the trained eyes of the other ninja. Sakura realized their concerned looks and, biting her lip with hesitance, she explained her theory.

"Ino...I think...I think the Wind Runner may be Naruto..."

The blonde beauty opened her mouth in a silent 'o', her eyes taking on a sympathetic nature. Tenten and Hinata seemed quite alarmed at the sudden statement as well.

"Sakura..."

"No!" the other girl exclaimed at their reaction, "Don't look at me like that! Come on...Tenten...Hinata? Don't tell me it hasn't crossed your mind at least once?"

"You think I haven't thought of that as well?" Ino spoke over her, hating that Sakura almost sounded desperate, "But if it was him then why hasn't he come here yet? It's been almost two months since this guy showed up. Don't you think Naruto would have came back by now if he's supposedly done training?"

Sakura looked at a loss.

"I know that...I mean...I don't know..."

"You want it to be him, I know this has to be hard on you Sakura but..." Ino stopped at downcast look on her friend's face and continued in much softer tones, "Look, I just don't want you to get your hopes up for nothing."

"Oh look!" Tenten said with loud, false merriment, "It's Chouji's place! Mmm...that sure smells good. Let's go Hinata!"

Without waiting for a reply the woman began a brisk walk towards the glowing windows that warmed the biting December air.

"Please don't get your hopes up..." Ino said to her before following the bobbing twin buns.

Sakura felt disheartened and she watched Ino's hair swish from side to side as she increased her step. She sensed the pearly-eyed fourth member of their party saddle up next to her.

"I believe it may be him as well," Hinata whispered in her ear before linking up with her arm and setting a steady pace again. The two girls—both, at one point in their lives, who had loved the man in question—shared a secret smile before heading into the warmth of their friend's apartment.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Ok, am I amazing or am I amazing? Not only did I finish both my lab reports and that horrendous nutrition project, but I also got this chapter out—all in time for some good piglet chasing fun. Don't be alarmed: its not animal cruelty, its just human recreation at the expense of pigs.

I am not going to describe every bijuu that Naruto fights—my imagination doesn't stretch that far and neither does your patience I'm sure. As you can see I already did a bit of time skipping.

Sorry about the long descriptions with the girls but I figured I should get that out of the way. With Sakura's hair and outfit it's like she's going to a damn ball. What can I say? The girl likes to kick ass with some class. hehe.

Threw some HPNaru crack humor in there XD Woo, yeah Boston!

And (drum roll please) my delightful editor **strider714** who should receive the utmost thanks has informed me that I have reached the 100K word mark! Yay!


	20. Clouds of Ramen

**Chapter 20**

Konan stared out at the rain that served as the one and only backdrop for Amegakure. She stood dry beneath the coverage of an awning set up just outside her partner's dwelling. The highly-decorated man had been high-strung as of late and there was no question as to why. The defeat of the Sanbi had intrigued him, the Ichibi was a cause for concern, and by the time the Nibi was eliminated Pein showed the first signs of worry that she had seen on him in many years.

His presence, especially edgy this afternoon, materialized besides her and she couldn't help but ask: "So he destroyed the Gobi as well?"

She took his silence for a yes.

"Don't you think it's time we removed this Wind Runner from the picture? I would have thought you'd have killed him after the Sanbi."

Pein didn't look at her when he answered, "I do not believe killing him is an option right now."

"This is getting ridiculous," Konan said with mild annoyance, "You have planned this out for years; what happened to creating the ultimate weapon to end all wars?"

"It's Uzumaki," he stated. His voice was quiet with solid finality. The paper wielder's eyes widened a fraction.

"How can that be?" she asked, the only thing that came to mind at the name was the horrific end the boy had met in the depths of Hell.

Pein didn't seem to care for her shock, "The only creature who can have that much power is the Kyuubi. And to have that power being wielded by a humanoid body can only mean that our flighty little friend has returned to us from Hell."

"This means our entire operation is endangered," she said with a frown defacing her porcelain features, "if he's learned to fully control that power then he can invalidate our entire cause."

"It means the Kyuubi's power is back in our reach," he corrected her, ever the optimist when it came to his own plans. He could see that she was not convinced that there was anything good about their situation.

"I cannot deny that I've grown a bit desperate in these last few weeks..." he started, "In fact, I have already enlisted in the help of the church; some of Hidan's old Jashin associates were good enough to give me some insight on the more..._offensive_ aspects of religion."

Konan knew her partner, and she knew these associates of Hidan had most likely not given up any information of their free will.

"I am sure that you've thought of some way to use this information to exploit any weaknesses on Uzumaki's part," she stated, her own voice lacking any curiosity, "Have you come up with a new plan?"

"Of course. We must send him to the Isetaibyou," A twisted smile emerged from the once stoic face and Konan was starting to see where this was going.

"The Grand Shrines of Ise," she murmured, "The priests there are supposed to be ruthless. You are sending him there because these priests will kill him for his demonic powers even if he is using them to help people."

Pein grinned even wider.

"These priests will only see him as the lesser of two evils. They show no mercy for such a being."

"And how do you suppose we get the boy there. I'm sure you've realized that is an area in which he would not willingly seek out."

"We use the Rokubi to lure him there of course; I think it's high time our little flying friend was grounded."

"You're sending the Rokubi to Isetaibyou?" she asked dryly.

"Of course not," he replied while, thankfully, ignoring her tone, "we're sending it to attack the village nearest to Isetaibyou."

The answer led Konan to believe that Pein had not thought this through enough.

"But that can't be right; the only village in that area is—"

"Exactly," he cut her off, "By choosing to fight the Rokubi in this location we will learn exactly what kind of man Uzumaki Naruto has become—if he the kind that we can easily take advantage of."

Konan liked this plan even less.

"And if he defeats this too? We'll be down to three bijuu."

Pein smiled, a certain calm returning to his body with the knowledge that his plans could be back on track.

"And we will have one easy capture for the Kyuubi."

0o0oo

* * *

0o0o0o

"How is he doing?"

Naruto looked up from where he was petting the small cat on his lap. The two-tailed kitten was sleeping soundly, subconsciously purring as a product from the attention his fur was receiving. The woman, Mai, who had cared for him and Harry after battling the Gobi, had entered the small room they had stayed in for the last two days.

"He's making a full recovery thanks to you," Naruto replied with a sincere smile. The fight with the Gobi had been their toughest yet, especially when it turned out that the creature had an affinity for just about every element—including fire, the one element that made his wind based attacks nearly useless. While Naruto had suffered multiple burns most of them had healed within the day. Harry had been injured far worse; the dog-demon had taken a large bite out of his back, rendering him immobile and causing significant blood loss. Naruto, furious, had managed to kill the Gobi with the added incentive, but was afterwards left exhausted, injured, and with next to no medical knowledge that could help Harry.

It was a middle aged woman who had tended to them in her modest living quarters. Her husband was a ninja who was killed in battle a little over two months ago, leaving her with her two sons, Daisuke and Yuuta.

Mai could not believe her luck; the Wind Runner was in her home and seeking her aid. She was shocked by how young the boy was; he was just a teenager, his body built but slight, making it impossible to imagine that it contained so much power. It didn't bother her in the least that there were subtle differences about him that made it clear that he wasn't quite human. The sharp fangs, long pupils, and claws were a dead give away, not to mention the deep lines carved into his cheeks, but she felt it only helped explain his unique power. As long as he was using this power to protect people, she had nothing to complain about.

Her two sons were elated when their hero had entered their home, not caring for the fact that he was burnt and bloodied and holding a suffering animal in his arms. They wanted to ask him a million questions, to shake his hand, to get his autograph but their mother shooed them away, telling them that they had to wait until he was well again.

"I've brought you some stew," she said, placing the steaming bowl on the small table in front of the boy. She looked at the adorable little cat on his lap, once again amazed that such a huge creature could become so compact. "I didn't know what he would eat. I'm sorry it's all I have right now—"

"No, no, don't apologize," Naruto grinned to ease her worry, he almost felt bad about how nervous she seemed around him, "This is better than I usually get, believe me. And he eats people food, so if he wakes up he can just have some of this."

He looked back down at Harry, a pang of guilt gripping his chest. The cat's back was fully healed thanks to a combination of his demonic healing abilities and Mai's care, but that didn't stop Naruto from replaying the battle over and over in his mind, finding a different way that Harry could have been spared each time. As if he could sense Naruto's train of thought, Harry began to stir on the blonde's lap. Mai almost squealed with how adorable the little cat looked as he blinked his eyes sleepily and showed off his miniature fangs in a wide yawn.

"Hey sleeping beauty, you're finally awake," Naruto chuckled with a forced smile. "How are you feeling?"

Harry looked up at him and then to the woman standing before them and then all around the simply decorated room and back at Naruto.

"The Gobi's dead," Naruto explained to him though his voice betrayed the lack of excitement at the report, "And besides the Yonbi we're only going up from here."

Mai almost flinched at the apprehensiveness laced within that statement; the savoir of the shinobi world seemed more like a boy at that moment than ever before.

Harry stood on Naruto's thighs and stretched his front legs before leaping off and onto the table. He sniffed at the bowl of stew, his tiny nose twitching a couple times, and then looked at the older woman who happened to be dying to cuddle him.

"Harry, this is Mai," Naruto introduced, "she took care of you when you were out."

Harry faced the woman and gave a grateful meow. Mai's self-control snapped; she kneeled down besides the table and began to pet the once fearsome beast. Harry leaned into her touch, stumbling around against her hand and purring at full volume.

"Well he sure is friendly isn't he?" she said with delight. Naruto nearly laughed, thinking he would never, ever hear that said about the Harry Potter he knew.

"Believe it or not, he usually isn't. He must really like you—that or he got hit harder than I thought."

Harry seemed to snap out of his kitty-euphoria and hopped away from Mai's fingers, growling at Naruto.

"Yeah, you're definitely fine," Naruto deadpanned, not bothered in the least by Harry's ire. Mai laughed a little at the pair's interaction and was impressed by Harry's intelligence. She knew before that he wasn't a normal cat by any standards from his tails and transformations, but his behavior made him seem almost human-like.

Harry's next course of action was to fill his empty tummy—healing took a lot of energy after all. He pranced over to Naruto's bowl of stew and began lapping up at the tasty both, occasionally pausing to chew up a piece of meat or vegetable that seemed to be the same size as his whole mouth.

"Thief!" Naruto accused as he watched his food be pilfered by something the size of his foot.

Mai giggled at their antics, "I'll just bring you another bowl. He looks like he needs that more."

Naruto waved off her offer.

"Thank you but we really have to be going. No telling when the next bijuu will pop up," he said heedlessly, as if he were talking about when a tax collector was due.

"Are you sure?" Mai asked, not bothering to hide her disappointment. But who could blame her when she had the Wind Runner himself in her home, and eating her food no less? Naruto stood from the small sleeping arrangement he had occupied for the last two days, popping his back and loosening his muscles. He was one hundred percent healed.

"I'm sure," he said, "I can't thank you enough for your hospitality. I'm sorry for any inconvenience—"

"Oh don't you _dare_ go apologizing!" Mai exclaimed, sounding scandalized at the very thought, "It's the least I can do after what you're going through for all of us. You have no idea what this means to my village, or any village for that matter, that someone would protect us even when you have no ties and no obligations to do so."

Naruto smiled at her praise, "Thank you, really. You ready Harry?"

The black kitten looked up from the bowl (which, in such a short amount of time, had surprisingly been reduced by half its contents) with droplets of broth clinging to his whiskers. He licked at his face a few times before jumping off the table and trotting along behind Naruto.

"Goodbye, thank you again," Naruto called back as he turned to wave. Harry gave his parting meow.

"Take care of yourself, and good luck!" she replied. It was too bad her sons were back at the academy that morning; they would have liked to see him off.

Naruto and Harry exited the village at a steady walking pace, mostly for Harry's sake since Naruto wasn't sure how his partner was feeling. The scenery soon changed from farmland to forest and they were given some privacy in the thickness of the trees.

"You're okay, really?" Naruto asked, glancing down at the cat who seemed as fit as a fiddle toddling along by his side.

Harry mewed, and if a cat could sound exasperated that would have been it.

"Are you sure?"

Naruto received a hiss this time.

"Okay, okay. Geez, you try and show a little concern..."

Harry made a swift, easy leap from the ground to his shoulder and gave his ear a good biffing. That day Naruto had learned that even a tiny paw can cause a significant amount of pain.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

One week later of sleeping in tree branches and eating off the land found Naruto training atop a small river just along the boarder of Fire Country and Waterfall Country. Just because he had begun his bijuu-slaying journey by no means meant that he could slack off on his training, especially when each bijuu became more powerful and dangerous.

The training Naruto was doing now was neither straining nor was it impressive to anyone who chanced upon him lying flat-backed on the rushing water, one arm resting on his stomach while the other stretched strait above to the sky, twirling and pointing at the clouds.

It was in the clouds that the real wonders lie. If one were to take the time and look they would notice the clouds shifting from one recognizable form to another; first it was fox, then a pumpkin, then a pair of chopsticks, and then a bowl with stringy-like clouds coming out of it. It wouldn't take a genius to realize that the boy was manipulating the wind from his place on the ground miles below.

Not too far off on the bank of the river was Harry, his miniature form laying on its side and soaking up the warm sun that was granted on that cool January afternoon.

"So, what do you think? North, South, East, or West?" Naruto asked languidly, his voice carrying over the trickle of the river. Harry didn't even look at him; he thumped his tails on the ground a couple times and gave a low meow.

"Well I haven't sensed any chakra signals either but you know I can't be stationary for so long. There hasn't been any hint of activity for a while...you think the Akatsuki have caught on?"

Another meow.

"Yeah...me too..."

As if by some chance of fate, an in-human amount of chakra flickered into existence in the far east, sending both human and feline to their feet in a flash. There was no doubt in either mind that it was demonic, and that it was the next bijuu for them to eradicate from the face of the Earth.

Naruto looked down at Harry.

Harry looked up at Naruto.

"Well that was freaky..." Naruto mumbled, barely registering that Harry had transformed himself into his larger, fighting appearance. The Hell-cat took three steps forwards in the direction of the calamity before realizing that Naruto had made no movement to follow. He looked back at the teenager who had a grave, calculating look on his face as he stared towards their destination.

Harry's green eyes bored into Naruto's, conveying his message clearly through legilimency. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed before he explained his hesitance.

"It's coming from Sound..."

Harry either didn't understand the significance of this or just didn't care because he pawed impatiently at the ground with a complimentary angry cat noise. Naruto couldn't stop the half-smile from taking hold of his lips.

"Well of course I'm still going! It's just...damn; sometimes I really hate being a do-gooder!"

There was no mistaking it: the nekomata laughed.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The only sound in the Hokage's office was the deep, even breaths of sleep and the long string of scratching from vigorous note-taking. Jiraiya had a look of pure perversion on his face; his cheeks stained red, a stupid grin on his face and a small trickle of blood falling from his nose. He sat in a chair directly in front of the snoozing Hokage, her breasts, which were pressed against the wooden desk from the weight of her body, were practically popping out of her shirt with each rise and fall of her shoulders. The worn pen flew back and forth across the pad of paper held in his hand with jumpy excitement, recording more data for the next great novel of the Toad Sannin.

With one, loud, unladylike snort the Godaime of Konohagakure began to stir. Her ninja senses telling her that someone non-threatening was nearby. She looked up blearily at her teammate who seemed to be frozen with wariness at her cognizance.

"Eh, heh heh...Oh Tsunade, you're finally awake, huh?"

The woman sat up, straitened her blouse and caught Jiraiya's delayed reaction of hiding his notebook behind his back. It took her less than a second to figure out what was going on a moment ago. Her face contorted into an expression that Jiraiya was very familiar with and feared with good reason.

"You lecher!"

"Tsunade wait! I—"

The rest was cut off as he was sent through the wall courtesy of a chakra-enhanced punch to the stomach. It didn't take long before the man was struggling to pull himself back through the human-shaped hole with plaster settling into his white hair like snow.

"What do you want?" the pig-tailed woman asked in an irritated voice, completely unsympathetic towards the wincing and stomach rubbing her teammate was doing as he reseated himself.

"I came to tell you about some Intel I received regarding the Akatsuki's next movement."

Blonde eyebrows rose in question, "I thought your contact for them was found and killed."

"Who do you think you're talking to, woman?" he laughed in that boisterous manner which he shared with his pupil, "Easily replaceable."

"So what did you find out?" Tsunade pressed with her hands set up in a steeple in front of her mouth.

"The next bijuu attack, and where."

Tsunade sucked in a breath, "Are you serious?"

"Always questioning my capabilities, aren't you?"

"Jiraiya, this is serious," she said in a hard tone.

"Yes, I'm serious, though I don't know if you'll be willing to act on it..." he trailed. She sent him an impatient look and he relented, "the next bijuu—and I don't know which—is being sent to Otogakure."

"Ah..." an unrevealing sound of understanding was the only response the Hokage could muster at the time. Otogakure was not their ally, no matter that Kabuto had arrived to discuss actions of defense and no matter that the Akatsuki was their enemy as well as Konoha's because in truth the enemy of an enemy is not a friend.

But at the same time, they couldn't _not_ act on this. Of the five great shinobi nations, Konoha was looked up to above all and that gave her a sense of responsibility for the wellbeing of the entirely of their culture. Receiving information such as this and then doing nothing was as good as sending the bijuu there themselves.

And then they had to take into account which bijuu was being sent. It was guaranteed that it wasn't going to be as strong as the Kyuubi, but that alone didn't offer much comfort at all. They couldn't afford to get in over their head, no matter what outside support the received.

"This Wind Runner...he was injured in the last fight against the Gobi wasn't he?" Tsunade asked rhetorically; she hadn't even noticed how her voice had softened instinctively, "He may meet his match with this one, and it's high time the shinobi nations started to fight back rather than rely on one boy."

Jiraiya was staring at his hands; he had heard the way she spoke of the baffling hero as if she knew him, and knew him fondly at that.

"You think it's him, don't you?" he uttered. It was a topic the two had consciously avoided, not wanting to instill false hope and not wanting to chance any misinformed rumors.

"And you don't?" she countered, keeping her glare at the window. It was too damn bright and cheery for her liking; the sky shouldn't be so clear when she felt nothing but cloudy confusion within her. Her eyes widened when Jiraiya stood abruptly, his temporary staid manner was cracked by the bright sparkle in his dark eyes.

"Heh, I don't know what that brat's planning, but if he won't come to us, we'll just come to him," the hermit said with a communicative grin. Tsunade responded with a close-mouthed smile and hummed in approval.

"I suppose the answer is obvious. If we know about this then there's no doubt that he does, and he will be there," she concluded.

"Yeah," Jiraiya grumbled, "I still don't understand how he can know where the demons are every time..."

"I'm sure there are a lot of things we don't understand about him now," she said wistfully. She did miss her adoptive little brother far more than she let on. Even after all this time she would catch herself fantasizing about him kicking open her door and calling her Baa-chan. "So now we choose a team; this will be an S-class mission."

"Well Sakura, obviously," Jiraiya stated. Neither sannin wanted to imagine the wrath they would face if the rosette found out such a mission existed and she wasn't assigned to it. "And Sasuke—"

Tsunade shook her head, "Sasuke's on an A-ranked mission with Hinata and isn't due back until next week."

The task at hand slipped from the pervert's mind as his teammate's words took him elsewhere.

"You sent Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata on a mission together?" he asked blankly.

Tsunade nodded.

"Alone?"

Another affirmative nod.

"Together?"

"Yes, Jiraiya, I sent them on a two-person A-ranked mission alone, together," the blonde ground out, ever the short-tempered one. Jiraiya didn't seem deterred in the least by her hostility and continued on his dubious stance.

"And the counsel members didn't give you any shit about it?"

Tsunade laughed at the question, completely understanding where he was coming from.

"There's nothing going on between them," she assured him and he shrugged.

"Doesn't matter if there is or there isn't, the two have been getting closer and no one can deny that. Come on, you know how temperamental and suspicious those old traditional farts are; for a Hyuuga and Uchiha to be together—even the suggestion would put the council in an uproar for sure. I mean, there's the matter of mixing bloodlines not to mention the competition between Konoha's most powerful clans. It would be chaotic..." Jiraiya paused in his speech as he thought over the possibility. "I like it."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "So back to the mission; Hinata and Sasuke are out of the question."

"Is Kakashi around?" Jiraiya asked.

"He should be getting back from a mission later this afternoon. We'll see if he's up to it. But I will send Sai and perhaps Inuzuka Kiba as well."

"Um..." Jiraiya seemed at a loss, "I can understand that Sai kid since he works well with Sakura and is easily a special jounin at this point, but if you're picking someone from Kurenai's team wouldn't you go with the Aburame? I thought he had more skill than the dog brat."

"More skill? No. Better tactician? Yes. But this is exactly why I'm sending him; Kiba knows how to fight using his instincts rather than logic—which in the case of fighting bijuu will be the more valuable asset."

"I suppose so," he agreed. "And is that all you're sending? One four-man team to _Sound_ against a _bijuu_?"

"Yes," the woman replied simply, "Things may have settled down compared to before the Wind Runner showed up, but the demands are still high and shinobi are spread thin. In addition, our shinobi aren't exactly trained to fight demons; this is a case where we will play the backup for the Wind Runner."

"I know," was all he said. Apparently that was the end of the conversation with him because he began to walk away from her. Tsunade found herself nettled by his abrupt departure; he usually at least said goodbye to her. With his habits she never knew when she'd see him next.

Despite this, there was one simple detail that she couldn't grasp about the situation.

"Aren't you going as well?"

His tall frame had stopped inches from the door—something she found strange in itself since he habitually used the window for ingress. He turned his head so that she could see his profile, but his eyes remained lowered.

"I have another lead on the Akatsuki leader that I have to act on before it's too late..." even as he said it his eyes deadened. It was an obvious choice that he didn't want to make. But Konoha needed him and his information far more than "the Wind Runner" seemed to need him now.

"You still feel guilty about not being there when Minato faced the Kyuubi, don't you?" she alleged in realization when she saw nothing but regret on his face. The corners of his mouth tightened, but otherwise made no movement.

"Sarutobi-sensei had sent me off on a trail to investigate one of Orochimaru's discovered laboratories that night," he explained in a cold murmur as memories took him back seventeen years. "It didn't have to end that way. Nothing had to end that way."

It was probably the most somber atmosphere he had ever left her in. The door had shut quietly before she even registered he was gone. She knew he felt guilt concerning the death of his prized student, but she had no idea that after all these years he was still brooding over it. And now he was leaving to retrieve even more valuable information that could save lives at the price of losing the chance to atone for past regrets.

"But he's not Minato, Jiraiya," Tsunade whispered into the empty room, "He's so much more."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Boring transition chapter, sorry about that, but the next one is where all the real _fun_ is. And who knows? The cloud thing, useless as it seems, may come into play later in the story.

I loved chapter 374 of the manga—Jiraiya had such a Naruto moment! Eee! I really love that man.

Thanks to **strider714** for making this pretty (though he DID say I did a kick ass job grammer-wise)

Next chapter: Another bijuu fight and...something MORE!


	21. An Armslength Away

**Chapter 21**

In his twenty-four years of existence, Yakushi Kabuto could honestly say that there were very few times he had been stunned into immobility. Working with Orochimaru had left him with countless visions of unimaginably grotesque sights and his work as a spy had him playing around with scandalous secrets for far too many years.

When the six-tailed weasel demon assaulted the village he had taken responsibility for, he had understood why and didn't question its presence. When the Wind Runner appeared after fruitless hours of trying to stave the demon off, he found it nothing short of predicable.

The Wind Runner blasting the Rokubi away from the village with inhuman quantities of charka was impressive, and when the young man delicately landed mere feet in front of him he could easily admit he was caught off guard. But when that all too familiar shine of blonde turned give him a wolfish grin complimented by a wink before jumping back into battle—that was the moment in which he found himself paralyzed with wonder.

To find that the Wind Runner was none other than Uzumaki Naruto (for he could never forget those whisker marks) who was supposedly either dead or trapped in Hell was simply staggering. And even more so, the young man who Kabuto had done nothing but deceive and injure in the past was now protecting the very village that had once taken away his best friend.

But something told him he shouldn't have been as shocked—after all, it _was_ Naruto: the most unpredictable ninja Konoha had ever produced.

Naruto was not privy to the contemplations of the Otokage behind him; he was far more concerned with the way the battle was turning out. All in all, after the last ten minutes, he was not faring well. He lost count of the number of times a bolt of lightning had struck him; every time he got more than twenty feet off the ground a bolt of lighting would smack him back down—it didn't even matter if he was grounded or not. His clothes were torn and singed and bloody, cracked burns littered his body. One of his greatest assets was stripped from him before the battle had even gotten underway.

Of course, it wasn't as though the Rokubi was having a grand old time either due to the simple but fortunate fact that wind trumps lightening. The demon was missing an eye as well as a good deal of its upper right face. Two of its tails were broken and three were cut clean in half. It lurched through the terrain with its suffering, blindly shooting out bolts of lightening at anything that moved in its sight. Slowly but surely, with the help of the elite sound shinobi, Harry and the Otokage, the demon was being broken down bit by bit, driven away from the innocent people within the walls of Otogakure and closer to the afterlife.

That was when things took an unexpected turn for the worse.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Sakura, slow down damn it!" Kiba called ahead to the woman that was flying through the tree branches as if she were the Tree Runner.

Kiba wasn't worried about himself tiring out before they were to confront the bijuu–-he was known for his speed and endurance among his clan—he was more worried for the oldest jounin of the group who had already been battle weary before he jumped for the chance to join the mission.

Kakashi seemed to know where Kiba's train of thought was going, and while he was a little worse for wear, he still felt strong enough to take on substantial opponents. Not that it mattered; there was no way in hell he was going to miss this mission no matter what condition he was in.

"Maa, I'm fine. I'll pop a couple soldier pills when we get there," he assured the group while keeping up with Sakura's heavy pace with apparent ease.

Sakura heard his statement and couldn't help but cringe slightly due to mild guilt.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei, I just want to get there as soon as possible..."

"I told you, its fine. And stop calling me sensei; I haven't been so for quite a while."

Sai remained silent through all this, keeping his face expressionless as he listened into the inane conversation. He had come a long way from the emotionless tool he had been before he met team seven; he could smile and banter and on the occasion even laugh. He believed in the closed theory that the Wind Runner was Naruto solely because he wanted it to be true, which was why he readily accepted the mission even when Danzo ordered him to decline it. The man was getting too old to take seriously anymore; his fanatical ideas of a military dictatorship were fruitless and the decaying ex-shinobi couldn't accept it.

"Doesn't matter either way I guess," Kiba shrugged, tapping the next branch with his toes, "Sound should be coming into view any minute."

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at him, "How do you know?"

"I can smell the blood," he replied gravely. Kakashi nodded in compliance.

"Me too."

And several minutes later their prediction came true.

"Oh my God..." Sakura gasped as the first of the Konoha shinobi to break through the tree line. Thick, black smoke was tumbling into the air from the numerous, lighting-induced fires spread around the outskirts of the village. A whole front portion of the wall was demolished with hundreds of bodies sprinkled around the wreckage. And the Rokubi, damaged as it may be, was a frightening sight to behold—particularly for the three who were not around to witness the Kyuubi attack seventeen and a half years earlier.

"I-it's huge," Kiba stuttered with his eyes wide and pupils dilated as the terror of the demonic chakra struck him from such a distance. Sakura too was in shocked by the horrific beast, enough to barely register the tiny figure leaping around its base. Sai, on the other hand, had his attention elsewhere.

"Who are they?" the young ANBU asked, pointing to the dozen or so robe-clad individuals closing in around the demon. There was something highly suspicious about them and he couldn't quite place his finger on.

"They look like monks," Kakashi murmured with a calculating eye, "perhaps they're here to purify the Rokubi? I believe a shrine is nearby this area at any rate—"

Such a theory was annihilated when one of the monks drew an arrow and shot it at the lone figure closest to the demon.

"That's—!"

"Let's go!" Kakashi cut off his ex-student and dashed towards the battle with the three others hot on his heels.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The first sign that clued Naruto in that something was amiss was a pulse wave of portentous energy that stung his insides and seemed to have a strange, weakening affect on him. He glanced away from the faltering Rokubi briefly to catch Harry's eye; the man-turned-cat had his ears flat against his skull and the hair on his back raised in warning. The most concerning fact was that the Rokubi had noticed this new presence as well, but the humans appeared to be completely oblivious. They kept fighting, throwing jutsus and weapons from behind the safety of their city walls, not knowing that their greatest defense was about to become handicapped.

The environment was filled with the roars of the Rokubi, the war cries of the shinobi and the explosions of battles, but somehow the whizzing hum of the air being parted by an arrowhead managed to be heard above the ruckus. Naruto wasn't a second too soon in diving into a roll as the unmistakable burn of spiritual energy brushed overhead. The arrow imbedded itself into the rock-face of a cliff wall and befell harmless as the pink aura died around it.

"What the hell?!" Naruto cried out with alarm. He looked around him to find twelve figures in brown, hooded robes appear, encircling him, Harry and the Rokubi.

"What the hell is your problem?" he yelled at them as justified anger took hold. Harry roared loudly in agreement, hissing as they stepped closer as one unit.

"We have come to purify you demon!" one of them cried, and at the same time revealed himself as the initial offender when he notched another arrow to his bow.

"Just who the fuck are you?" Naruto swore, "We're trying to kill the demon, why are you fighting _us_?"

He made the grave mistake of leaving the Rokubi out of his vision for too long and the next thing he knew was a cloud of dust had exploded and the sound of hundreds of ninja screaming from their incoming death reached his ears.

"Oh shit—!"

He made to dash forward in hopes to cut the Rokubi off from further destruction but suddenly found a tight, burning tug on his waist. He gasped from the unanticipated pain and looked down to see a string of large, purple beads wound around his midriff. He followed the rope of prayer beads to the hands of a monk to his left, the hood only leaving the bottom half of the scowling mouth visible.

"You aren't going anywhere half-breed...except to Hell!" the coarse voice announced with an undertone of satisfaction. Despite whatever distress he may have been experiencing at the time, Naruto couldn't help the humorless look at the unnecessary name calling.

"Been there, done that. But you should give it a try."

The monk didn't have time to think about what the hanyou meant before the previously neglected Hell cat sprang into view from behind and crunched his head between its powerful jaws. The prayer beads coiled to the ground along with the body, useless without the backing of spiritual power.

"Thanks," Naruto heaved, rubbing his waist at the lingering burns which had seeped through the cloth of his shirt and caught his skin. He knew from experience that damage from spiritual powers were difficult for a demon to recover from. "I think the shit just hit the fan..."

The spiritual auras of the monks flared in fury at their brother's demise at the hands of a demon. He felt slightly nauseas and knew from lessons taught by Kagome that a spiritual field had been set up while he had been fighting the demon. The demon was only mildly affected by this—most likely due to its sheer size—and not nearly affected enough to give the quickly ailing Sound shinobi any advantage.

"Forget the large one!" one of the monk's cried with his bow staff raised, "those humans were taking aid from a demon and they deserve to die!"

"Kill the half-breed and its pet first!" another cried, charging forwards with an angry howl.

"They're fucking psychotic!" Naruto yelled to Harry as another string of prayer beads tried to lasso him. The two immediately scattered away from each other as simultaneous attacks were shot at their former location. Naruto recited just about every curse Jiraiya ever taught him in his mind as he was forced farther and farther away from the still-attacking Rokubi. The sounds of the humans' screams were still ongoing; he couldn't find the time to attack the bijuu when he had dangerous priests assailing him by the numbers.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The Konoha ninjas went strait to the forefront of the battle with little resistance, flanking either side of the Otokage and falling into defensive stances. The beast, if anything, was even more horrifying up this close.

Kakashi glared at the ever evasive ninja that had somehow managed to escape the combined efforts of him and Sakura almost two years previously. Kabuto still had the same grey hair in a pony tail that contrasted the youthful face as well as the same round glasses, but he now donned robes befitting of a Kage and was determinedly trying to keep the demon from killing any more of his shinobi and buying his civilians enough time to flee.

"Glaring at me isn't going to stop the bijuu from further destroying this village," the Oto nin puffed out between jutsu. Kakashi sighed and flashed through some hand signs, throwing his own jutsu into the fray and signaling for his squad to follow his example; if someone told him six months ago that he would be fighting alongside sound shinobi, he would have laughed right in their face and smacked them with his latest Icha Icha. Immediately Kiba dashed forwards with his gatsugya and Sai sent a barrage of inky panthers to follow. The only one who had yet to move was the only female of their group

"Sakura, come on, help us out here!" Kiba ground out. It was only the first few seconds of fighting and he already suffered a slight limp from getting too close to that demonic chakra. Sakura appeared to be in some sort of trance as her gaze was locked on the ground a distance away from the Rokubi.

"It's..."

"Sakura!" Sai hollered, trying to get her attention. But he was ignored as the beating of the girl's own heart had drowned out any outside noise. From this distance she could barely make out the difference in clothing color from the numbered figures gathered on the ground. But she saw the gold shine of the hair on the center one—the Wind Runner—and somehow she knew, even when she couldn't see them, that those eyes were the bluest shade any iris could ever hope to be.

"It's him..." she breathed and for some absurd reason her eyes were tearing up. "Oh my God it's him, it's him..."

She had no idea why she suddenly had the urge to cry and would later blame it on hormones, but right now all she could focus on was getting from where she was to where he was. Her legs moved before her brain had a chance to tell them to.

"Sakura we need you to focus," Kakashi said sharply as he noticed the girl was leaving the frontline. "We—_Sakura!_"

She had picked up speed, scaling down what was left of the high wall they were currently shooting jutsus off from and mindlessly dodging the half-assed swat from the last, whole Rokubi-tail when it noticed her passing by.

"Sakura!" Sai tried calling out to her, but he was ignored just as readily as the copy-nin.

"She is completely irrational when it comes to that boy, isn't she?" Kakashi commented offhandedly to the nearby ninjas who were once sworn enemies of Konoha, but his one visible eye, now focused on the object of her care, shined with more emotion than it had in the last two years.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"_What the hell!?_ You fucking assholes don't understand what you're doing, do you? All those people are going to—FUCK! Did you just throw holy water at me?!"

Naruto shook his hand that was blistering horribly from where the blessed liquid splashed him. He never thought he would see the day where being part demon would become a liability in a battle, but here it was. He wasn't completely helpless; with the combined efforts of him and Harry they were able to decrease the monks' numbers to five. But these few monks had just about every trick up the sleeve with taking out demons, and their frustration at his evasions only seemed to increase their vehement onslaught. He was constantly moving—dodging and bending and twisting and jumping just to stay relatively unharmed—all the while suffering under the terrible sounds of people dying because he couldn't help them.

A seemingly harmless jingle went off somewhere to the left of him as he twisted out of the way of two paper sutras flying at him. The sound was from three cleansing bells on the end of a monk's bow staff and it was simply devastating to his ears. The vibrations seemed to tear away at his youki, slicing into his chakra canals. He found himself on his knees in the next moment, coughing up blood all because of a stupid bell.

He wasn't the only one affected; the screeches of the weasel demon along with a loud yelp from Harry told him it was another offense designed for demons. The noise was ended quite abruptly when Naruto's eyes flashed crimson and his body shot forwards of its own accord, ending the life of that particular religious practitioner.

He realized, as he watched the remains shoot out in all directions, slapping against the stunned faces of the other monks around him, that it had been a long time since he fought against humans. Perhaps he shouldn't put so much power into his resistance...

Another explosion courtesy of the Rokubi sending lightening down onto a group of relatively young chuunin set off another round of petrified screaming.

...nah.

"Harry...lets just kill these fuckers."

The nekomata rumbled in concurrence. Fuck the monks; the bijuu wasn't going to wait for their permission to stop attacking.

Naruto grinned as used the back of his hand to wipe blood from the corner of his mouth. He suddenly felt more like a demon than ever before for anticipating a human kill, but he strangely wasn't bothered by it. Maybe this was what Inuyasha meant by accepting both parts of himself—

"NARUTO!"

The voice hadn't been identified in his occupied mind as he used his claws to lop the head off of the nearest monk. The nausea was on a steady increase and his vision had gone fuzzy around the edges. It was in a daze that he turned his head over his shoulder toward the source of the call.

Standing high up on an intact portion of the village wall, far too close to the attacking demon for his liking, was a woman: woman with pink hair and long, slender legs. He _knew_ that woman.

"S-Sakura..."

The battlefield had fallen strangely silent to his ears. He idly wondered if he had gone deaf or if everything had stopped, but such a thought could barely be processed as his entire being was focused on the vision before him. She was breathtakingly beautiful. The distance was too great to make out her face very clearly, and the sun behind her made it difficult to discern any details, but he could see her figure perfectly, he could tell that her hair was pulled up elegantly behind her head and that her entire stance radiated grace and power. She was exactly how he remembered her and more.

He took one involuntary step towards the spectacle and then flipped backwards as a chain of prayer beads tried to rope him down for what seemed like the hundredth time. The battle came rushing back to him; screaming humans, roaring demons and chanting monks returned to his senses.

He cast a fleeting look at his old teammate who seemed to be locked on the spot, unsure of what to do.

"Sakura, help them!" he yelled to her from below, "I'll be there in a minute! Don't let the demon's youki touch you!"

The second his eyes had connected with hers her breath froze in her chest. Those eyes, those beautiful blue eyes...the last time she had seen those eyes they had gazed at her through inner anguish and a wall of blistering demonic chakra, telling her that it was too late for him. Now they were conveying a different message; they needed her help.

His shouting brought her back to the present and she was ashamed to admit that she paid more attention to how his voice had matured than what he was saying. However, the message was conveyed through the desperation hidden within and she could only curse inwardly at his request; she didn't want to leave him (though that was for admittedly selfish reasons) and in addition to that she was a close-range fighter. Apparently punching the demon's lights out was out of the question.

Before leaping back towards the Rokubi she gave him an unwilling nod, one that went unseen as he went back to fending off the attacking monks. Logically she wanted to believe that after taking out four bijuu that a few humans wouldn't be problem for him, but something told her that he was in greater danger than anyone realized. In spite of this she respected his request, slowly making her way back to the Rokubi resistance, stopping several times along the way to heal the wounded.

Naruto panted heavily, trying his damndest to slow down his heartbeat from the dangerous pace he could feel it pounding away at his chest. He had to focus on the battle, he had to get rid of the rest of the monks, destroy that damn barrier that seemed to be sucking the energy out of him, and he had to finish off the bijuu before the entire village was wiped out. But Sakura's silhouette kept popping up to the forefront in his mind, her silver-toned voice kept echoing in his head, making him think she was calling out to him again. Women were so distracting...

_"Raaooowwr!"_

Naruto jumped, shaking his head clear of any pink-headed visions to see Harry being held down to the ground by several threads of prayer beads. He could see his fur smoking a bit at where the spiritual energy was burning into him.

Not a second later had his attention being yanked back to the battle with the Rokubi. Another portion of the wall was blown away and, though he couldn't see Sakura, he knew she was in that general area. A sudden and well desired bout of angered power flooded his body as two unfortunate scenarios played out on either side of him. He raised his hands to their most habitual position.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Four clones popped into existence, two on either side of him. Four was not what he was aiming for, but just those few left his body feeling heavy and drained—proof that the spiritual field had sapped too much of his energy by now. He idly wondered if this is what if felt like to have average chakra reserves and suddenly had a new appreciation for why Kakashi never fully utilized the kage bunshin jutsu despite having the know-how.

"Distract them," he ordered the two clones on his right. The two gave him weary mock-solutes and set to fending off the remaining four monks to the best of their ability. Naruto stuck out his hand as the other two clones set to work; his face was set in a cold gaze which was directed at the Rokubi's swaying tails—half of which were reduced to bloody stubs.

**"Rasenshuriken!"**

A giant pinwheel of blue and purple chakra whizzed through the air at unimaginable speeds, cutting across the wreckage and causing the living monks to dive to the ground, consequently releasing Harry from their hold. The dynamo struck the Rokubi dead in the back, leaving the enormous weasel shrieking as it fell backwards, the deafening crash nearly drowning out the cheers of the surviving shinobi.

"Was that—!?"

"It was!" Kakashi answered Sai's unfinished question with an uncharacteristic jubilance in his pitch. Proud warmth filled the thirty-year-old's being; not only did that jutsu indisputably confirm that Naruto was the Wind Runner but he had completed the jutsu—he was the first known shinobi to ever successfully create and apply a true elemental jutsu.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered, her own eyes shimmering with unbridled emotion. The demon was down and she suddenly felt like she could breathe easier; she was now free to go to Naruto, to meet with him face to face for the first time in nearly two years.

Before she could even set a singe stride back in his direction, the sound of screeching metal and crumbling rocks drew everyone's attention to the slowly rising demon. The terror level rose once more.

"Fuck," Naruto grunted as he realized that the rasenshuriken had lost a fair bit of it's oomph due to his fatigue. The wear and tear of using the shadow clone jutsu followed right after by the rasenshuriken was making itself well-known. He staggered to his feet, not realizing before that his legs had given out, and quickly dispelled his clones. This granted him a little more energy but left him with the knowledge that only one of the monks they had fought against had been killed.

The demon didn't give a second glance to the tense shinobi surrounding the half-destroyed city and, completely fed up with the annoying little half-breed, began clawing its way towards the small, heaving form. The back half of it was covered in blood; no tails could be seen through the gore of its tail-end and one leg was completely limp, dragging along behind it and slowing the demon down. With a mighty and empowering roar, the demon began to secrete a powerful, hazardous chakra from its body, communicating that it was serious.

For someone who was severely weakened and had a four-hundred foot demon barreling down on him, Naruto showed nothing but relief.

"You all right, Harry?" he asked out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed on the approaching demon. A weak meow was the response, but Naruto knew that Harry would recover soon enough. The demon's chakra had reached him before the demon itself had, but it didn't bother him in the slightest.

Perhaps it was because he had stayed within the spiritual barrier for too long, or because he had exhausted so much chakra already, or that he was so preoccupied with the knowledge that he now had the demon's full attention, but he had completely forgotten about the other enemy he still had to deal with. Then next thing he knew was blinding pain on his side.

He felt as though someone took a giant cricket bat and used him as the ball. He didn't know how far he was thrown or what exact technique the monks used on him, but he found himself slamming into the base of a nearby cliff. He stumbled against the scratchy rocks for a moment, trying to regain his footing.

He had barely managed to straiten his legs before the only monk remaining, standing at least fifty feet away from him, flung an ofuda at him as though it was a kunai. His sluggish fatigue allowed it to catch the middle of his forearm and pasted it to the rock face behind him. It was the last thing the monk ever did before the nekomata took his life.

"Ah! Shit!" Naruto gasped in pain as the part of the arm beneath the talisman began to sizzle and burn. He could already see the skin along the outside edges of the blessed paper blacken, releasing wisps of smoke. He tried to peel off the ofuda but his strength (or what was left of it) seemed to have no effect against it.

Sakura paused in her efforts to dig up survivors from the wreckage the demon caused and saw the jeopardy her old teammate was in.

"Naruto..." she gasped with her hands cupped over her mouth. He appeared to be tugging fruitlessly at a piece of paper, unable to move as the demon closed the distance between them. She didn't even think; she dashed forwards, ignoring every yell and shout and warning from her teammates.

"Naruto!" she yelled a bit louder as she got closer, running through the strewn about remains of those holy men. The closer she got to the demon, the larger it seemed. She had made a point of staying as far away from it as she could, healing many of the injured sound shinobi and throwing huge chunks of rubble in a missal-like fashion. But now that she was within one hundred feet of it she realized that it simply towered over her, its face could have been proportioned to those on the Hokage Mountain.

None of this mattered took any effect on her as she used chakra to enhance her speed, powering her legs into a potent jump. Unfortunately, the demon's chakra had oozed over the immediate area like a poisoned cloud and her latest leap in advance caused her to land in it.

She screamed so loudly that she scared herself and immediately jumped back, almost crashing into Kiba as he and the other members of her team had followed her. Now she understood exactly why Naruto had told her to avoid the youki as she fought to control an almost possessive invisible fire that spread over her body. She ran her hands around her raw flesh, healing herself while peering through the thick chakra with concentrated worry. The demon was temporarily delayed by the large, two-tailed cat snapping at its front legs, but it wouldn't last much longer.

She realized than that she couldn't get to Naruto—no one could, he was trapped. She could feel her distress rising to levels bordering hysteria and her eyes teared up for what seemed like the hundredth time this day. What was it with this boy and making her cry?!

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted as her scream alerted him of her presence and her head snapped up at his distant voice. He had given up trying to get his arm free from the sutra and was staring at her with an all too familiar look.

"Get out of here! Take them and get out of here! Please, there's nothing you can do now!"

The hot tears that spilled from her eyes caused the burns on her face to sting, but it was nothing compared to the ache she felt in her heart.

"No!"

"Sakura..._go_!" Naruto growled, the pain and stress of the situation getting the better of him. Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder and tugged gently.

"Sakura, he's right—" he started but the girl hadn't even acknowledged him.

"I WON'T LEAVE YOU AGAIN!" She screamed at the blonde so loud and with such conviction and emotion that not only Naruto, but everyone around her was shocked into silence.

Sakura was trembling; whether from sorrow or indignation was unknown to either witnesses or herself. The memories of that day were rejuvenated in her mind after being dormant for months. He was trapped again, surrounded by an evil chakra, seconds away from death, and she could only stand by and watch. How could it be that she could heal any wound of a teammate no matter how fatal, face down the strongest of jounin and come out victorious, but when it came to Naruto there seemed to be nothing she could ever do to save him.

"Sakura please..." the jinchuuriki whispered, unwelcome dizziness forcing him to lean against the rock he was bound to for support. A shadow passed overhead and he squinted up with one eye to see the Rokubi poised to finish him off with one, clean strike.

Harry leapt up, able to handle the sea of evil chakra that was more intense around the appendage, and bit down on the padded foot. The demon scream in pain and fury as poison slipped into its veins and it threw the smaller creature into the same cliffside as Naruto. Harry hit the rocks hard, releasing a loud yip, and slumped to the ground completely out of Naruto's reach.

Naruto snarled with frustration at himself and the situation he was in. This paper, it was burning through his flesh, yet it held fast on him stronger than he could ever imagine. And Harry was fighting that thing all alone...he was going to get hurt again and it would be his fault. And his friends—

He looked once more at the group of shinobi who he would have given anything that morning to see again. Now he wanted nothing but their absence. They were going to die, Harry was going to die, and that entire village was going to die once the Rokubi finished with him.

Sakura was fed up with the suspension, with her uselessness, and with the situation on a whole. Just because she couldn't attack the Rokubi herself didn't mean she couldn't reach it by other means.

"Shannaro!"

Her gloved fist struck the ground and a wide trail of earth collapsed inward, heading directly for the demon. The ground beneath it gave way enough for its single, good hind leg to fall into a small crevice, rendering it temporarily immobile. Its head snapped to face the group of humans not far off behind it and it snapped its jaws at them, the air crackled around its head as it powered up a lightening attack intended to wipe them out. Billowing clouds of dust flooded the air after Sakura's display of power, creating a screen-like barrier between the shinobi and the Rokubi. The only thing visible was its looming silhouette and a few sparks of energy.

"Nice going," Kiba muttered as the hairs on the back of its neck hackled, "he's going to attack us."

"How can you tell?" Sai asked.

"Its instinct," Kakashi answered, "we need to get out of here now."

"Naruto's in there!" Sakura cried in anger, refusing to back away as the others were.

"Sakura, we're no good to him dead!" Kakashi shouted back at her with just as much irritation, "Let's find a better location to attack from and draw it away—"

A deafening bang from the other side of the dust wall shocked them all into a tense hush.

"What the hell was that?" Kiba breathed, his eyes fixed on the slowly settling dust, hoping to find his answers within. Kakashi shook his head.

"Is sounded like one of those fire-powered weapons..."

Deep within the murky atmosphere, still bound to the rock face wall, stood Naruto, a gun clenched tightly in his free right hand—something he knew Harry would grill him about later for stealing from him. His heart was thrashing all too violently against his ribs and his eyes were still wide at the immediate danger his friends were just in. His mind was racing, searching for any possible solution. He knew he had enough chakra to give off one, last good jutsu, but that meant he had to conserve what he had left as well as free himself to use it. He swallowed back a mixture of bile and blood between each gulp of air and glared resolutely into the spiteful yellow eyes of the Rokubi. A bullet had done nothing but annoy it. In fact, it wasn't even enough to draw its attention back to him since the demon was already facing the direction of his friends once more, clearly set on finishing them off first.

Naruto made a decision right then and there, one that was every bit as impulsive and courageous and stupid as his own nature.

Cocking the gun, he pressed the cool barrel against the base of his forearm right between his elbow and the edge of the ofuda, and pulled the trigger.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Otokage-sama! What was that noise? What's going on over there?"

A jounin shinobi approached Kabuto with the utmost disturbance set in his lined face. With the departure of the Rokubi the residents of the Sound village—civilian and shinobi alike—had immediately set to work in lining up the dead and collecting the injured.

Kabuto stared out across the devastation and watched the dust cloud in the distance for any new movement. It was impossible to discern what was going on over there and for some unfathomable reason he felt genuinely worried, not for the likelihood of the Rokubi returning, but for Naruto's well being. He should not have cared for such a thing.

"I don't know," he murmured. "And I honestly wish I could help them but—"

He paused, not knowing how to finish that statement.

"I understand," the jounin replied. Orochimaru never interacted with the shinobi under his command; in fact he never even approached a single civilian since he started this village. But even with that attitude, Sound had most certainly recognized the leadership gap that followed his demise. Surprisingly the village council felt Kabuto—as shady as he was apt to be—had the potential to be a real Kage, to make this village actually count by allying themselves with the five great nations. And Konoha, out of all the villages, was the one that shockingly come to their aid.

Kabuto sighed, knowing he should take advantage of the Rokubi's distraction while he could, and returned to helping heal some of the more serious injuries of his shinobi. He didn't know when he started to care about other people, or why he even wanted to get involved with their lives, but he had a suspicion that somehow that Uzumaki boy was behind it.

That boy who, despite all he's seen in his young life, was able to look beyond past transgressions with all the wisdom of a sage and help someone who was so undeserving.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The second gunshot of that day went off just as Naruto was propelled away from his prior barricade in a thick spatter of blood. His fall backwards seemed as if it were played in slow motion; he could see his lifeless hand still stuck beneath the ofuda through his tunneling vision. The pain was unimaginable, nearly enough to send him soundly into blissful unconsciousness, but he didn't put himself through all that training for nothing...

Nearly grinding his teeth in determination he twisted his torso much like a cat would, managing to land belly down, and thumped both his right hand and bloody stump of an arm on the ground beneath his chest for one final jutsu.

**"Doton: Namami taihou no jutsu!"**

A barrage of dirt and blood rose from the ground like a tidal wave and rocketed towards the doomed Rokubi, separating and solidifying to resemble hundreds of giant spears. It struck the demon in the chest cavity, spikes imbedded deeply through the coarse fur. The beast fell onto its back, its two front legs pawing at the air as it gurgled and growled failingly.

Naruto, gasping for air and completely drained of chakra and nearly blood as well, aimed to steady himself on his knees with his only full arm.

"Harry, Change!" he bark at the cat that he could see wobbling to its feet out of his peripheral. The wounded creature looked at him through distressed, jade eyes, taking in the damage he had inflicted onto himself.

"NOW!" he ordered, his voice cracking as he tried to keep his tone strong. He was feeling oddly lightheaded and his arm was beginning to numb—it was disturbing enough to keep him from enjoying the barely lessening pain. "Use it!"

It took the Hell cat only a second to morph into its humanoid form. Harry was a bloody mess; with no fur to cover his body the injuries he sustained were far more evident. He quickly made his way over to his fallen comrade, his face pale and his eyes locked on the sickening stump of an arm. He knew what Naruto was telling him to do; the demon was still alive after all.

"Shit, fuck, oh shit! You know I'm shite at potions, how are we going to fix this..."

"What _I know_ is you are really useless to me right now," Naruto grunted and clenched his eyes shut as his savored adrenaline receded, leaving him with nothing but the reminder of what he had done to himself.

"Right, right, sorry" Harry muttered, splashing both his hands in the goopy pool of Naruto's blood sitting beneath his curled over torso.

"Don't mind if I borrow this do you?" He asked without expecting a reply.

"Knock yourself out," Naruto was sweating from the pain and he was trying very hard not to look at what remained of his left arm. Even with his regeneration he estimated that it would take months—maybe even years—to re-grow an entire arm. Months that he didn't have.

_"D_**_elego barathrum_**_!"_

The weasel demon didn't even get to give off a parting roar as it was obliterated by a shockwave that shimmered red with the blood of its victim. Naruto managed a shaky but relieved smile before he crumpled to the ground in his own mounting puddle blood.

"_Phasma Vir Voco!" _Harry whispered almost immediately after, knowing he had no time to waste before the Konohans arrived on scene. Out of the runic circle beneath his blood-coated hand a shadow began to form just feet in front of him. It darkened and contracted, gaining shape and color until finally his mentor was presented in the flesh, looking out of place among the ruins with his clean clothes and healthy stature.

Inuyasha took one look at his boys—one of which who was missing an _arm_—and promptly smacked Harry upside the head.

"OW! _What the hell was that for?!_"

"Keep it down," Inuyasha scolded, kneeling down to the unconscious blonde and checking out the severity of the situation, "they'll hear you. Now tell me what happened."

As Harry gave him the nutshell of the battle—predominantly the most recent of events—Inuyasha had walked to the base of the cliff where the rest of Naruto's arm was still trapped.

"So it was a set up," Inuyasha concluded when Harry had finished speaking. He muttered some latten words and touched the cold flesh; the entire entity incinerated into nothingness with a flash.

"Most likely, yeah."

"Ok," Inuyasha said with solemn finality, "I'll run back over to our world and whip up a skelegrow potion. I think I remember how to do it."

"_You think?!_" Harry yelped.

"Relax. I'll be back by tomorrow, don't bother summoning me; I'll come on my own. Ok?"

"Ok," Harry sighed, kneeling along side Naruto's body and pushing him into a more comfortable position.

The sound of a quickly approaching humans caught both their attention.

"Right," Inuyasha said, "You. Cat. Now."

"But—!"

"—until I get back! And then we'll talk. But right now we're being watched and we can't afford the Akatsuki to discover where he has been all this time."

Harry's shoulders slumped but he nodded nonetheless, shrinking into his tiny form as he was far too tired out for anything more. He knew that his world had been through enough without any curious baddies trying to pry their way in there. He curled up around Naruto's unconscious form, feeling Inuyasha pat his head affectionately before making his temporary departure to their world.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Just as the air had started to clear for the Konoha shinobi to make out what was happening, the second gunshot sounded followed immediately by another explosion that filled the air with smoke and dust once more. The only comforting factor was the unmistakably pained roar elicited from the Rokubi.

"What the hell is going on over there?!" Sakura fretted anxiously, wringing her hand in a nervous fashion.

"I don't know," Kiba growled, "but I hate all this waiting..."

The air was tense around the group as an early silence filled the devastated battlefield.

There was no warning when an otherworldly blast sent every one of the Konoha nin crashing onto their bottoms. The cloud of dust began to thin.

"Did he do it?" the Inuzuka asked to no one in particular. There was no sign of the demon from where it was a moment ago. There wasn't even a body.

"The demonic chakra...it's gone..." Sai murmured. His statement was unnecessary as they all felt the obvious effects. Every unnatural and terrifying feeling had been released from the atmosphere, subsequently giving them free reign.

Sakura was the first to speed off, followed closely by Kakashi and then Kiba and Sai. The air was merely a translucent haze; clear enough to see the rumpled figure near the base of the cliffs.

"Oh my God, Naruto!"

Sakura was by his side in a second seeing that he was deathly pale and his breathing was labored. The first think she noticed was the tiny, two-tailed cat curled on his chest. The second thing she noticed was the unnaturally large pool of blood surrounding him. And the final thing she noticed was the unnaturally short appendage on his left side. She choked back a sob and her hands began glowing with a fierce green as she stopped the steady leakage of blood. She hadn't realized that soon one of her hands, through some sort of instinct, had begun threading through the dirty blond tresses as her other one kept working.

"H-he...he took his own arm..." Kakashi muttered, his visible eye wide with disbelief and horror.

"He what!" Kiba gasped but he could see what was before him clear as day.

"He did this to save us..." Sai murmured to himself, not quite understanding the concept of self-sacrifice but recognizing the significance of it.

"He'll live," Sakura whispered quietly, having done all she could for him in her current condition, "but we should get him to a hospital. Konoha's hospital, if you don't mind."

The last part was spoken in an authoritative tone, daring anyone to contradict her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Kakashi agreed. It would be more convenient to make the trip rather than use whatever Sound had to offer; chances were the Sound hospital was already backlogged with so many injured from the attack. Sakura would have no problem keeping the young hero stable for two days.

"I'll carry him," Kiba offered, bending down and scooping the younger man in his arms, careful not to jar the self-amputation anymore than he had to. The tiny demon on Naruto's chest made a low hissing noise at the movement, but could barely open its eyes let alone seem threatening. Sakura gave the kitty a sympathetic smile and gently took him into her arms.

"And I'll carry this one."

Harry looked at her through bleared eyes before falling into a well deserved sleep himself. The band of leaf shinobi slowly but steadily began their trek home, not giving the war sight a second glance.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Tobi sat atop a mountain, well within range of getting a good show of the Rokubi's demise and the "Wind Runner's" miraculous survival. Things were playing out very interestingly. Pein was obviously going to be upset by this; his brilliant plan to use location against Naruto had failed and he had lost a demon in the process. But Tobi could only derive a twisted sort of amusement from the events.

Perhaps he would act if things got anymore out of hand, but for now he still found no immediate threat with the Kyuubi child.

However, even as he made this unofficial decision this within in his mind he couldn't shake the suspicion that there was another party aiding the wind-manipulating brat.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

That was loooooooooong. I feel like shooting my own arm off just so I don't have to do any more work (betcha didn't see that coming either XD). Do not expect chapters to be that long. Ever. Or I'll bite you. Actually, I was initially planning on ending this chapter at the part where he pulled the trigger to take off his arm, but I might have been hunted down and killed so I vetoed that idea.

I know Pein takes orders from "Madara" but I don't know enough about the situation to write too much into it—so I'm just pussyfooting around the topic of Tobi for now.

So there you have it…the big reunion…not. Hehe, I know half of you would probably kill me for the anticlimactic-ness of it all, but there will be more intense narusaku love!! It's hard to be romantic when there's blood and gore everywhere. (I think Naruto and Sakura seemed to pull an Inuyasha and Kagome with the constant shouting of each other's names. Lawl XD.)

Thanks for the reviews :) :) :)

And thanks to** strider714** for editing this thing!

Next chapter: prepare yourselves for fluff!


	22. Sleeping Beauty

**Chapter 22**

"Oh snap, I am so good..."

Inuyasha made a motion akin to flicking dirt off his shoulder as he swished around the freshly-corked vial in his hand. Skele-Gro was a simple enough solution to remember, especially with his aptitude for potions. After the required day and a half of letting it cool and thin, the concoction had turned into the appropriate color of a bright acid green, signifying that it was ready to be bottled.

"Daddy?"

Bridget crinkled her nose at the offending odor that most potions produce, hopping down the last few steps into the basement where a potions station was set up.

"Hey hun," Inuyasha said as he dropped the Skele-Gro into a back pocket. Bridget, being the bright witch that she was, caught sight of the vial before it disappeared beneath the denim fabric, noticed the ingredients scattered about as well as recognized the different scents floating about.

"Was that Skele-Gro?" she asked, walking up to the small cauldron and looking at the sludgy dregs left on the bottom.

"Yep!" Inuyasha replied as he stashed away some ingredients he left lying about earlier. Even though the basement was more 'his territory' Kagome still didn't like a mess.

"What's it for?

"Naruto."  
Bridget froze in the act of twirling a strand of dark hair around her index finger.

"...why...?"

Inuyasha patted her on the head as he whisked by her.

"Don't worry about it."

"Dad," she followed him around back and forth across the cold cement floor as he went between cabinets, "I can think of very few reasons why Naruto would have to re-grow any bones."

Inuyasha shoved the last of the lacewing flies into a tiny cubby and turned to fully face his daughter.

"Long story short: he stole Harry's gun and blew his arm off."

"What!" the golden-eyed girl exclaimed and if anything she followed him even closer, "No way! Why would he ever do something like that?"

"It's the age, I guess," Inuyasha replied tragically, "Now is the time to experiment after all..."

"Dad, that is not why," she stated flatly. She paused before she continued, giving him a look of scrutiny. "You're going over there to see him aren't you?"

"MmmHmm."

"And give him the potion."

"MmmHmm."

"Well then take me with you, I can ask him myself since you obviously aren't going to tell me."

Both of them knew her real motive was to see Harry; not to say that she didn't care about Naruto, but a girl's got to have her priorities. Inuyasha stared at her for the demand before throwing his head back and laughing heartily. Bridget narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why not?" she asked with her hands on her hips in a pose remindful of Kagome, "You said you've gotten really good at crossing worlds."

Inuyasha calmed down enough to answer her.

"Yes, _I_ have. Me. Harry can't even do it yet. And I can't take other people with me."

"But," she pushed, "You can take _things_ with you. Little things, I mean. You're taking that phial aren't you?"

"I am not taking you with me"

"Dad, you don't understand, I have to see them."

"No you don't. You have to finish school."

"It's been months, I don't know when the next time I'll see Harry again, if ever. I mean, if Naruto had to shoot his own arm off what other kind of dangerous stuff will they be putting themselves through?" her voice quivered slightly, "Contrary to what they may think about themselves, they are not invincible."

Inuyasha sighed loudly, his eyes rolling to the ceiling as he reminisced back to the days when he only had to say things once and that was that. He was silent for a long moment, Bridget stared unblinkingly at him the entire time he contemplated her arrangement.

"This is going to hurt you like a bitch."

Bridget smiled widely, knowing she had somehow miraculously won.

"I figured as much, it'll be worth it."

"No, really. I'm warning you now, no matter what you do to yourself, you are going to get hurt. This won't be easy on your body." He wanted to make sure she understood exactly what she was getting into.

"Come on Dad, I can handle it," Bridget assured him, "It's not like I'm a fragile little human, right?"

Inuyasha quirked his lip at the response and entertained the idea that she may have developed masochistic tendencies from hanging around Naruto too much.

"I know babe. I assume you already have some idea of how you plan to do this?"

Bridget grinned impishly at up him.

"Have I showed you my animagus form yet?"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Sakura's bum hurt.

The cold, hard, metal chairs that were provided for visitors could really do a number on the derrière if they were sat in long enough. Her team had arrived in Konoha only a few hours earlier; Kiba blew past the guards, leaving Kakashi to provide them with a brief explanation, and flew over the rooftops to avoid any delaying of reaching the hospital. By the time he had put the unusually-pale boy in an empty bed Tsunade had arrived, sufficiently creeping out any nearby shinobi with an uncharacteristic show of emotion. She wasted no time in checking over Sakura's healing job with her own green chakra, the whole time swearing about stupid, careless blondes.

From what she saw of his body and what was reported back to her of the mission, Tsunade had managed to deduce that the reason Naruto was healing abnormally slow and had yet to regain consciousness was because of the prolonged exposure to spiritual energy; his immune system hadn't recovered from the shock and strain enough to properly begin his own recuperation. With the utmost gravity, Tsunade then explained to the haggard team that even healing ninjutsu wouldn't bring back his arm. The harsh truth could hardly be comprehended in their minds; each one either too elated with the return of Naruto or just pooped from fighting a bijuu and then traveling nonstop thereafter.

Kiba and Sai had both returned to their respective homes to wash up and Kakashi was forced into admittance in the hospital for overexerting himself in two succinct dangerous missions. Tsunade had sworn anyone who had seen Naruto into secrecy about his return until the boy had woken up.

Once she left it was just Sakura—torn clothes, dirty hair, chakra exhausted and all—left alone with the peaceful looking blonde. Of course, the cat was present as well; it hadn't left Naruto's side since the battle and was now curled on a corner of Naruto's hospital pillow in a way so that its head was buried beneath its silver-ringed tails.

With all the chaos and terror that went on in the last few days, coupled with the stress and suspense regarding Naruto's injuries, Sakura was left with little time to fully comprehend who she had within her reach after almost two years. But now she could breathe freely once more; gaining a much needed brake from the emotional roller coaster she had been riding since the Akatsuki first got their hands on Naruto. For the first time since Oto she was given substantial time to really look at the boy she grew to love. And the foremost feature that stood out—above the fangs and claws and reddened hair—was the irrefutable evidence that he most certainly was NOT a boy.

What was left of his baby fat from when they were fifteen had wasted away to almost nothing, leaving him with slightly hollowed cheeks, the skin stretched closer to his jaw line and a deeper outline to his Adam's apple as well as an uncanny resemblance to a certain giant, stone face carved into Hokage Mountain.

She couldn't seem to keep her hands off him, much to her own embarrassment. At one point during a brief break on the return to Konoha, Sai had found her tracing her fingers along the almost femininely-soft lips of the unconscious boy—which were just as she remembered them to be. Despite whatever conclusions others may draw about her, she simply couldn't bring herself to stop. Even with her assurances to Ino there were many times in Naruto's absence that she doubted her true feeling for him, and his for her. They had gotten closer, fooled around on the occasion, but nothing was ever established. What if she had made a mistake waiting for him the same way she had waited for Sasuke? What if, just like Sasuke, her feelings for him had faded and she wouldn't be able to fully comprehend it until she was face to face with him?

All her worries turned out to be for naught; just looking at him lying in the hospital bed, completely immobile, could make her heart flutter. She still loved him and it didn't matter what he felt for her because he was here with her now. As long as she could be near him she would be content with whatever he felt for her, even if it was only friendship.

She smiled and touched his hair, rubbing some dirt out of the strawberry blonde strands. It was much longer now but somehow remained just as unruly; most of his spikes were transformed into lengthy strands that curled at the nape of his neck and his bangs wildly framed either side of his face. Sexy was the only word that came to her mind.

And those whiskers...

Biting her lip and quickly flaring her senses to make sure no one would walk in anytime soon, she lowered her fingers from his hair down to the soft skin of his cheek. Giving one last glance at the closed door she stroked the three distinctive contours which were far more pronounced than she remembered.

He gave a slight moan, arching his back a centimeter or so from the bed and shifting so that he was closer to her hand, the whole time remaining unconscious. Her heart raced at his gratifying response and she rushed to rub them again with a bit more pressure, nearly squealing at the soft pants that parted his lips. She could hear a very faint rumbling begin and placed her other hand on his broad chest, grinning widely at the nonstop vibrations representing a purr. She ran that same hand over the thin material of the hospital sheet, marveling at how easy she could feel the definition of every muscle, even with fabric in the way.

Would this constitute as molestation?

What she wanted to do next was pull the sheet down, to ogle at his physic to her heart's content and to take advantage of his immobility. But she knew that by removing the sheet she would reveal his left arm—or what was left of it. Every time she even glanced in that direction she felt sick to her stomach. What if she had listened to Kakashi-sensei and left when he told her to? What if she had listened to Naruto and never even approached the demon? Would he have even been caught by surprise by that monk in the first place? She heard the gun shot, she saw the blood, and while she had been no where in the immediate area at the time she would always feel partially responsible for what he had been forced to do to himself.

Suddenly, almost ironically, she felt the impulsive need to leave. She forgot something at home didn't she? Didn't she promise her mother that she'd check in with her as soon as she got back from the mission? Her mother didn't know the details of the mission such as it was an S-class or involved a bijuu of all things, but she still liked to keep her mother up to date with most of the goings-on in her life.

On the other hand, she also didn't want to leave Naruto, especially when he could wake up at any moment. Her mother could wait a little while longer...

...No. No, something was telling her that she had to go right now. She stood up (and her butt was very thankful for that) and leaned over the bed to kiss its occupant's forehead. The kitten curled on the pillow stirred at the movement, glaring up at her between tails for waking him. She giggled and patted his head.

"I'll be back in a minute, watch over him for me will you?"

Harry made an odd trilling noise that she didn't know cats could make but took it for an affirmative at any rate and, with one last longing glance behind her, slipped out the sliding door.

The second the latched clicked back in place an individual shimmered into existence, releasing a simple concealing charm. Harry took note of the human form of Inuyasha—who he hadn't seen in months—before burrowing his head back in his tails to continue his snooze.

His eyes snapped open as he did a double take.

Inuyasha grinned at the comical reaction and stepped into the window-light of the room.

"Hey, Harry, I have someone for you," the black haired man stated as he reached into his breast pocket. He lifted out some sort of gummy outline which was hard to make out. He gently placed it on the floor and a green color over took to form to reveal it was a chameleon.

Curious and vaguely recognizing the scent that came off of it, Harry leapt off of the bed to transform back into a human, revealing a few open gashes across his body that had been slow to heal due to the spiritual exposure a couple days earlier. As it turned out, he wasn't the only animagus in transformation. As he changed the chameleon grew at an alarming rate, altering and coloring until it revealed Inuyasha's daughter and Harry's accepted future mate.

"Bridget?" he gasped, too shocked at her startling appearance to wonder how and why she was an animagus. His shock quickly changed to alarm when Bridget, remaining on her hands and knees, began to cough up blood with deep, racking hacks.

"Bridget!" he cried, rushing to her side and holding her shoulders as she tried to pull herself together. The pressure on her chest a moment ago was unimaginable, feeling like everything she had inside of her was crushed.

"I warned you it would hurt," Inuyasha said coolly.

"I didn't think it would cause any lasting damage!" Bridget choked out, wiping blood from her mouth once she could breath easily again. She glared weakly up at her unruffled father, "You should show more concern when your daughter is coughing up blood."

"Oh stop it, you're fine," was the impassive response. Inuyasha walked away from the couple on the floor and over the reason he came there for.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked in a caring undertone, still rubbing her back in large, soothing circles. His concern over her well being didn't stop some innate part of his male mind from taking note of where her bra clip was.

Bridget nodded and gave him a feeble smile, completely unaware of his thought process. She spat out what was left of the blood in her mouth, trying to get the taste off of her blood-coated tongue.

"Yeah. I'd totally kiss you right now but I doubt I taste very good..."

Harry smiled, lifted her chin with the side of a hooked finger and gave her a chaste kiss right on her mouth.

"I'm a demon, I like blood."

"Potter, get off the floor and get off my daughter."

The two reluctantly parted and rose. Bridget absently waved her wand at the small puddle of blood she left on the floor, vanishing it.

"Do you have it?" Harry asked, his brain finally catching up with him after Bridget's presence settled in his mind. Inuyasha reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small, glass vial filled with what looked like green acid. Harry swallowed back the not so fond memory of having to take that back when he was twelve.

"Course I do!" he jiggled it around a bit, making the neon substance bubbled furiously, "Well, I guess it's time to wake sleeping beauty up."

The two youngest of the alert group had no time to wonder how he planned on doing that until Inuyasha cheerfully leaned over the low railing that fenced the sides of all hospital beds...and planted a kiss right on the sleeping boy's lips.

Bridget slapped her hand over her face.

Harry's glasses slipped off his nose.

Naruto's eyes fluttered open.

The first thing he saw was a peach blur with black fuzz hovering above him. As it began to come into focus he recognized those distinctive features and violet eyes.

"Huh, Inuyasha?" he mumbled, blinking back the brightness that only a hospital could create. The face overhead gave a cheesy grin.

"Hey, guess what? My lips are magical!"

In spite of his fuddled mind, Naruto knew enough about Inuyasha to _not_ want to know what he meant by that.

"Dad!" Bridget moaned with mortification, "I don't even know what to say to you right now! I mean—Kagome!"

"Ah, she won't care," he said, betraying no shame whatsoever. Naruto, not understanding a word they were saying, began to wonder if he was really awake or not.

"B-Bridget...?" he stuttered, squinting at the visage who he believed to be the curly-haired girl he knew for the last couple of years, "How are you even—? Where am I?"

"In Konoha," Harry replied, stepping up to the other side of the bed while giving Inuyasha a reproving shake of the head overtop.

"Kon...Konoha…KONOHA!"

Naruto shot up so fast that Inuyasha, Bridget and Harry each took a hasty step backwards. The blanket fell from his body, revealing a naked, tanned chest and a noticeable stump of an arm. Bridget's hands flew to her mouth to stifle the gasp.

"Oh Naruto!" she whimpered, "Oh no, oh...how did this happen?"

She turned an accusing look at Harry. The boy suddenly had guilty written all over his face.

"Wh-what? I didn't—I wasn't even—"

"I did it to myself," Naruto spoke up calmly. Bridget stared at him and Harry looked even guiltier. Not liking the pitying look she was giving him, Naruto averted his eyes from her direction, eventually catching sight of the strange vial Inuyasha was holding.

"What's that?"

"It's Skele-Gro," Inuyasha replied, "It re-grows bones."

"Re-grows...you mean..." Naruto's eyes lit up and a weariness they hadn't even noticed before seem to lift from his face, making him appear more like the lively and youthful child he had been before he found out about the bijuu.

Inuyasha nodded, grinning at the jubilance Naruto was displaying.

"It'll take several hours to re-grow the bones missing from your arm, and then it could take the rest of the week for your demonic regenerating abilities to kick in and fill in the rest."

"So? What are we waiting for?" he asked, bouncing up and down on the dense mattress as best as he could.

"It'll hurt like a bitch," Harry warned with a smile of his own. Bridget too was pleased with the change in atmosphere; of course she still couldn't seem to take her eyes away from the grotesquely fascinating half-arm in front of her.

"Who the hell cares if it will hurt?" Naruto scoffed, reaching for the solution mere feet from him, "I'm getting my arm back!"

"Are you sure you want this?" Inuyasha asked, pulling the small vial back out of his reach. "I mean, think about it. If you ever want to be one-armed you'll have to shoot it off again. Do you really want that kind of pain in your life?"

Naruto gifted him with the deadest look he could muster.

"Inuyasha, why the hell would I _ever_ want to be one armed? Unless..." he glanced at the odd appendage with a look of enlightenment, "I could club people with it!"

He waved the short bar of flesh around, swinging it back and forth as much as his joint would allow while noting in the back of his mind how off balanced he felt. The three men found the entire scene hilarious, not bothering to contain their raucous laughter.

"You three have a really, really sick sense of humor, you know that?" Bridget said, still looking a bit peaky—though that could have easily been from being forced between worlds only moments ago. She waved her wand at the door, enforcing a silence barrier, "just give him the damn medicine. I can't stand to look at that any longer."

With an exaggerated sigh and reluctant movements, Inuyasha surrendered the Skele-Gro to the ever eager cripple.

"We can always just get you a hook for that arm," he threw out as Naruto uncorked the small container, "It'd be pretty B.A."

"Dad, you can't say B.A., you're not a teenager," his daughter complained.

"I can too say it, I'm a young adult!"

"No, you're old."

Harry was the only one fortunate enough to witness Naruto knock back the green liquid before promptly spitting it back out all over the other end of the bed. He made a comical sight with all the coughing and sputtering and exaggerated gagging noises.

Harry sauntered over and patted his back kindly.

"Don't worry, that was the hardest part."

"Yeah...I believe...that..." he forced out, his eyes watering from the burning on his tongue and the in back of his throat. He finally caught his breath, accepting a glass of water Bridget conjured for him.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly to Inuyasha, "I don't think I swallowed much of it."

"That's ok, you didn't really need that much," Inuyasha assured him, "only a few drops. I just wanted to see how much you would drink."

Bridget and Harry both began snickering as Naruto took on a completely affronted look.

"Inu—!"

"Your girlfriend's coming back."

"—yash—what? Girl...you mean Sakura-chan?" Naruto's face seem to pale, adding to his already sickly appearance, "Oh—Sakura-chan! Is she ok? We killed the demon right? What about Kakashi-sensei and the others? What happened?"

Harry grinned at his friend's delayed reaction, pushing him back down on the bed before he over exerted himself. "The demon's dead, your friends are fine—maybe a little freaked out, but fine—and you're the only one with any serious injuries."

Naruto grinned lazily and relaxed back into his pillow. "Ok, that's good..."

"Time to go," Inuyasha said suddenly, sensing that the pink-haired girl had already reached their floor. Bridget waved her wand again, releasing the repelling charm and the silencing spell, she was also kind enough to rid any strange green stains off the bed from where Naruto spit out the potion.

Inuyasha turned to the bespectacled man first.

"Harry, permission to be human—"

"Yay!"

"Bridget—"

"Oh, daddy, please let me stay!" she begged, jumping in front of him and turning on her best puppy eyes. It was Harry who spoke before Inuyasha could.

"I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with that..." he faltered a bit as the young woman turned on him faster than the Rokubi's lightening, her eyes promising pain if he didn't shut up, "It's just that it's dangerous and...and we don't know when the next bijuu is coming...and...I'm shutting up now."

"I agree," Inuyasha said, highly amused with how quickly Harry appeared to submit to his daughter.

"Dad, really, I don't think I can handle going through that right away," she said with honesty, massaging her stomach and knowing she harbored at least a few cracked ribs. Inuyasha rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in acquiescence.

"Fine, I'll come back for you in a couple days, but—" he turned to Harry, ignoring his daughter's victorious cheering in the background, "If I find she has any marks whatsoever—"

"Inuyasha!" Harry yelped, taking a step back from the sheer power of his 'overprotective-dad' glare.

"Dad! We're not going to do anything like that!" Bridget cried, blushing at speaking about such a topic with her father. Alaina may have no problem with discussing her sex life with their dad but she was only seventeen and still had several conversation boundaries intact.

"Well, I'm off!" Inuyasha said with a big smile satisfied that his work there was done, "enjoy re-growing your arm, you should be feeling the affects right about...now!"

"Ah!" Naruto hissed, grabbing at what was left of his elbow. He couldn't see anything happening, but a sharp burning had taken over the very nub of it where the skin had already closed over. The party was distracted enough to not notice Inuyasha disappear from the room.

"Are you all right?" Bridget asked worriedly. Naruto nodded, pushing the pain to the back of his mind and perking up as he heard footsteps approaching. His eyes were fixed on the door, his heart racing at being able to finally see Sakura-chan for the first time in so many months (he didn't count the Rokubi fiasco).

"Well, I have enough tact to leave now," Harry said while grinning at Naruto's poorly hid anticipation and grabbing Bridget's hand, "Come on, let's find his house and redecorate it!"

Naruto was far too inattentive to comprehend any implications that statement could have meant for his residence. The final wisps spared from the couple's shadow-walking departure dispelled into oblivion as the door slid open.

Sakura nearly had a heart attack when she reentered Naruto's room to find herself captured by a pair of striking blue eyes peering strait into her soul.

The boy—_'man,'_she corrected herself_, 'he's a man'_—was slightly propped up by his stacked pillows, looking comfortable enough beside holding his lame arm with his other in a slightly strained grip.

"Sakura-chan..." his low voice carried over to her, making her legs tremble with some kind of need. She hastily shut the door behind her and approached his bed with quick antsy strides.

"Naruto," she whispered as she came to his bedside, afraid to speak to loudly for some unfathomable reason; perhaps she felt that an increase in volume would shatter this dream. She reached out with her hand, touching the side of his face, seeing that he was real. He smiled and covered her hand with his own; his palm alone could now blanket most of her hand. He pulled her hand away from his face and maneuvered them so that their fingers interlaced.

"I can't believe I'm back and you're right here with me," he smiled using just as soft of a voice. He brought the back of her hand to his lips while not releasing it from his warm grip, "you're every bit as beautiful as I remember."

Her pine green eyes had a soft, womanly look to them and he tried his damndest not to let his eyes wander her body, especially that v-cut top she was wearing that showed off a good deal of the creamy skin between her breasts.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," she responded, using her free hand to brush through his hair much like she had before she left. She busied herself with smoothing his bangs back away from his forehead, keeping her eyes locked on his the whole time in some sort of passionate staring contest. He was blushing as he stared back at her, his eyes flickering to her lips every now and then. She leaned down, just then realizing that at some point she must have perched herself on the edge of his mattress right beside his head, and lingered above his inviting features.

Naruto released her hand and brought his up to the side of her face, brushing it across the pale cheek, his nails provocatively scraping behind her ear causing her eyes to flutter shut as it finished its journey to the back of her neck. Long tan fingers burrowed into her hair, pulling pink strands from the clipped twist as he gently tugged her head the rest of the way down for their lips to meet.

He felt it was a bold move on his part seeing as he hadn't give the possibility of his own feelings much thought let alone Sakura's. But he honestly couldn't help himself when the object of his self-suppressed desire was hovering just inches above him, her smooth pink lips tantalizing him into action.

For Sakura, it was the finishing touch for any of her self control. Eighteen months of uncertainties and longing had come to an official end, and she would be damned if she didn't make the most of it. He had been the first boy she had ever kissed and she wasted no time in demonstrating everything his experiences had taught her.

Their closemouthed kiss was short-lived; Sakura was the first to split the seam of her lips, capturing the whole of his bottom lip and forcing his mouth to open for her indulgence. Her tongue set forth to ravishing his mouth the second his teeth had parted enough to allow full entry, reacquainting herself with every familiar taste and sensation the hot cavern could bestow upon her.

The young man beneath her was not idle throughout this. He allowed her free reign of his mouth but for a moment before taking control. He caressed her tongue with his own; their taste buds scraped together, sending delightful sensations through both teenagers, before he slipped past the intruding wet muscle into her ready and willing mouth.

Sakura managed to unwittingly migrate herself fully onto the bed until she had one leg kneeling on either side of his torso, her butt bone planted firmly on his lower stomach, her body arcing over his.

Their hands would not be stilled; at this point in time Naruto's right arm had forgone supporting Sakura's head and had trailed down the thin line of her spine, slipping into the dip above her tail bone and back up, gliding around her ribs and hesitantly fingering the cloth over her breasts. Her moans and writhing only encouraged him and he hooked his only thumb on the right seam of her shirt's neckline, tugging on it, dragging it down and out until one modest but pert breast popped free. So she wasn't wearing bindings...

Sakura arched down, grinding her pelvis into his stomach without any inhibition, as Naruto skillfully used his fingers to pinch and fondle and massage the soft globe. She could feel his wet lips curve into an impish smirk as his mouth left hers, sloshing its way down her long neck, leaving a filmy, shimmering trail of hot saliva in its wake. He moved down the profile of her ribs, decorating her pale flesh with the occasional red mark, and finally met the bouncing, firm globe of her breast with his lips, capturing the painfully hard nipple between his teeth. Sakura gripped his hair with both hands, tangling the red and gold locks between erratic fingers.

'_Oh, those fangs—!'_

The sharp incisors grazed the areola, sending spine-tingling warmth strait to her crotch. Her body started to feel very hot and her breathing became more labored; no one could make her feel like this except Naruto, it was like he made it his mission to make her feel good. And to think she wasted so much time chasing after Sasuke when she could have been getting attention like this!

Sakura grabbed his jawbone with one set of surprisingly strong fingers to pull him back into a deep kiss as she forcefully yanked the crisp hospital sheet from his naked chest. Since the cloth was caught beneath her weight, pinned between each body, it ripped strait down the middle, exposing every bit of scar-less, tanned skin Naruto had to offer from the navel and up. With her eyes closed and her head fully occupied with some long overdue necking she didn't get to see the intricate mesh of black and red fashioned over his bellybutton.

Her fingers danced over every bit of skin she could get her lust-driven hands on; the sinewy muscles stretched across his ribs quivered at her ghostly touches and she could feel his stomach muscles clenching and unclenching between her legs.

"I love you," she mumbled into the heat of his open mouth, her fingers flying shamelessly over his pectorals, stopping to play with the hard nubs of his nipples.

Naruto's head was spinning from both her declaration as well as her aggression; she had really grown up since he last saw her...both in body and libido. And those words...he had waited since his second year at the academy to hear those words...

"I—"

"Whoa!"

Despite her competence as a jounin, and despite every heightened sense he had as a demon, neither had heard the door to the hospital room open. Both were far too enthralled with the other to realize the audience that had gathered. Sakura hastily slipped herself back into her dress before turning to face the intruders; she then understood why the young man beneath her harbored such a look of shock.

Blocking the entire doorway and spilling into the room was the entire Konoha eleven plus Sai and Kakashi with Kiba at the forefront, his finger still pointing at the pair of them and his mouth still hanging open. The dog loving boy relaxed his stance as he managed to take in the scene before him, finally letting out a loud wolf whistle that sent peals of laughter scattering about the sea of intruders.

Sakura was ready to kill someone that point: either the gathered assembly for stopping her from getting what she felt was some long deserved alone time with Naruto, or herself, just to escape the mortifying situation she found herself in. She was quick to climb off of Naruto—though remained on the bed with him—and subtly began healing any love bites the blonde left on her body. Naruto, on the other hand, only seem to brighten, not bothered in the least that he looked thoroughly sexed or that the love of his life was straddling him a moment ago in a most erotic fashion.

"You guys! Hey!" he honestly wished he could have said more than that, or done more than that, but for the time being he was bedridden. From the front of the group he could see Kiba, Hinata, Tenten, Chouji, Lee and Neji, all of whom looked so much stronger than he remembered, and he knew there was more behind them but he didn't have the time to discern who else had come to see him.

"Naruto!" the shriek had reached a pitch that only blondes could achieve. A purple blur broke away from the stunned crowd and threw herself at the laid up young man, wrapping her arms around his neck in a very close hug.

"Ino-pig!" the strangled cry belonged to Sakura who was glaring at the wicked look the blonde kunoichi gave her over Naruto's bare shoulder.

Naruto, wondering when he knew Ino enough to garner such a welcome from her, hugged her back as best he could with his single arm.

"Hey, Ino," he said as she pulled away, "you look good."

"You don't look so bad yourself," she said with a wink and a smile that only further infuriated the pinkette on the bed.

"With all the disappearing acts and bijuu killing you're going to start giving me grey hairs," despite the sincere happiness reflected in Kakashi's dark eye something darker shadowed it as it lingered on the left half of Naruto's body.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto cried as the tall man stepped up next to Ino and ruffled his hair. He sat up straighter, the act jostling the torn sheet into completely revealing his severed limb.

The room filled with appalled gasps and a couple screams (Lee shifted his eyes about). Naruto seemed frozen on the spot, glancing down at the object of their horror. He gave a light breathy laugh that sounded strangely relieved to their ears.

"Oh this?" he waved the shortened appendage around, "I thought someone would have told you by now."

"They did," Shikamaru said, stepping out from the crowd. He had grown even taller than Naruto thought he would, "but seeing is a lot different from hearing."

"Yeah man," Kiba said, "I mean, it was pretty gross with all the blood, but its still creepy looking."

"Its cool, I can grow it back," he assured them with ease. Everyone noticed Sakura wince harshly from besides him, even Naruto.

"Naruto I'm sorry but...even Shishou agrees that there's no medical ninjutsu that can return your arm."

Naruto simply smiled brightly.

"No, I really can—"

"Dobe."

Naruto swore his heart stopped at the voice as well as the single, patented word. The crowd of shinobi wordlessly parted like the Red Sea and the tall, dark, imposing figure of one Uchiha Sasuke strolled forwards.

"S-Sasuke," he faltered, his mind figuring several things out for itself. He was still in Konoha; he hadn't run off again for more power. His friend were treating him normally, he wasn't permanently marked as a social pariah as Naruto feared he would be, he didn't have to suffer the unique pain of loneliness that Naruto once had to. Sasuke was saved.

The knowledge didn't stop him from mumbling stupidly, "You're still here..."

Sasuke stared blankly at his once best friend, taking in everything that had changed as well as everything that had remained the same. Naruto still exhibited that rushing, potent chakra hidden beneath the same innocent exterior he managed so well, despite the obvious changes developed by the presence of the Kyuubi. A part of him wanted to smack the blonde around for stringing everyone along for such an emotional rollercoaster. On the other hand, he wanted to find someway to express his gratitude, to thank him for never giving up on him. In the end he settled for an arrogant scoff.

"Tch. No shit, dobe."

"Teme!"

Sakura laughed tearfully at the needless bickering that had begun; she was glad to finally have both her boys back. She shared a knowing look with her former sensei and knew he shared the same feeling. It had been a long, hard journey for all three of them, but in the end she felt everything had happened for the best—it had made them their best.

"Don't fight you two," Hinata commanded. Naruto almost had his second heart attack that day for he had never heard her speak so clearly before, let alone tell someone what to do. "He still has to tell us how he plans to regain his arm."

She turned to him politely, the epitome of class, and gave him an encouraging smile. He suddenly found everyone staring at him to begin explaining.

"Oh," he said, slightly caught off guard, "Well, to start off Inuyasha stopped by—"

"Inuyasha?" Neji questioned the name without recognition.

"The guy who was training him all this time, who rescued him from Hell," Sakura explained off handedly.

"Actually, it was Harry who rescued me from hell," Naruto corrected.

"...your cat?" Kakashi asked, sounding slightly bewildered.

"Hey, where is he?" Kiba asked, looking around the room, "didn't we leave him in here?"

Naruto responded, "My place...I hope...," he trailed off for a bit, a worried look braising his features before he snapped his attention back to the matter at hand, "Anyway, Inuyasha came to give me, uh, medicine. It'll help me re-grow my bone. Then after that I can do the rest. Trust me, I'll have my arm back within the week."

The entire explanation sounded so far-fetched most of them actually believed him.

"Re-grow you're bone?" Tenten wondered aloud.

"Yeah," Naruto laughed nervously, his only hand swinging behind his head for his trademark I-don't-know-what-else-to-say scratch. "It's complicated magic stuff; I don't know how it really works."

In all actuality he didn't care if his friends found out about anything magical, but he didn't think he had the will or the knowledge to even attempt to explain the magical world to them.

As he thought about it his arm gave a particularly nasty throb and he clutched it with a gasp.

"Naruto!"

"What happened?"

"Are you okay?"

'_Thirteen years of starving for this kind of attention and now I'm getting too much of it?'_

"That would be the medicine kicking in," he explained with a grunt, "Apparently re-growing bones hurts like a bitch," he had to smile at the overly concerned look he received from Sakura, "Don't worry, it should be over in a few hours."

Sakura tisked and pushed him back down into the bed, climbing out of it herself.

"All this excitement isn't good for your injuries. I'll tell you what, I'll put you to sleep using a medical jutsu I know and that way you won't have to endure so much of the pain."

Naruto smiled gratefully at her and nodded in acceptance. Sakura turned on the rest of the group and went into 'nurse-mode'.

"Out. All of you. He needs his rest."

Though the majority was in agreement with her, not everyone left quietly. Ino pouted and whined while Kiba gave her a teasing grin.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean the last time you two were left alone—"

"OUT!"

After much pushing and prodding Sakura had managed to get everyone out of the room. The next thing she did was rip the torn blanket from Naruto's bed, leaving the boy lying there in only a pair of boxers. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his state of undress and then looked at her with amusement.

"Oh, stop it," she laughed, pulling out a fresh sheet from the closet. She shook it out and draped it over him, tucking the edges under the mattress with motherly care. Naruto watched her with a certain fondness has she worked. Once she finished reapplying the sheet to the bed and set herself at his side, placing one glowing hand on his forehead and the other over his heart. A cool sense of calm washed over him and Naruto could already feel the pain in his arm fading into the recesses of his mind. The jutsu sure worked fast.

"Sakura," he mumbled drowsily, he was aware that he was slipping out of consciousness as his eyes became exaggeratedly heavy and his surroundings seemed to drift farther and farther away from him.

"Hmm?"

She pulled her hands away from him, knowing the jutsu would take affect on its own and busied herself with tucking him in so that he would be more comfortable.

Naruto's eyes slipped shut, the last vision he remembered being a pink-haired woman looking down at him with tenderness.

"I love you too."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Yaaay! XD I really enjoyed myself writing this chapter; I felt like it was the good 'ol days writing Experiments!

Bridget's animagus: simple? Yes. Convienent? Yes. Magical? No. Demonic? No. Nothing special about her chameleon form, we can't have everyone be super cool about everything.

Inuyasha's kiss...well, come on! After Millennium, I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that!

...I have no shame

Now will there be SasuHina? Yeah, probably, get over it. It's not a major pairing and we don't care about them in this story.

I doodled pictures of the girls and what they look like as well as some of Naruto's look. They're on my DA account if you want to check them out (which is the homepage in my profile)

Okay, just a side note: today I was watching to, and a Keebler cookie commercial came on, and as I watched the old Keebler Elf yak I noticed something hilariously disturbing…

HE HAS THREE WHISKER STRIPES ON EACH CHEEK! Es verdad!

Right, sorry about that. We must all thank **strider741** for making this legible. Or else no one would get to read about raunchy hospital "check-ups".

Anyhoo, thanks for all the reviews my lovelies!


	23. Face it, He's Not a Cat

**Chapter 23**

"Awww, look at him. He looks so cute when he's sleeping..."

"Yeah, probably because he's quiet."

"Hehehe…should we wake him up the way my dad did?"

"Well you sure as hell won't be."

"Oh oh! Really, now? Careful how you word things Potter, you know how much I like it when you get all commanding on me."

"Mmm—no—mmm—Bridget, now's not the time—"

"Oh come on, that's half the fun. Besides, he's asleep..."

"No, he's not."

The mildly annoyed glare from a pair of half-lidded blue eyes was enough for Bridget and Harry to jerk apart as if they had suddenly developed two matching polarities.

"Oh Naruto!" Bridget said brightly as if she had not just been trying to coerce Harry into doing naughty things in inappropriate places. "How are you feeling today?"

"Today?" he mumbled with his mind still slightly fuzzy with sleep. He couldn't even remember what had happened before; he was too warm and snuggly to care very much. Maybe he should just go back to sleep...he really didn't care what those two did anyway...

"Yeah," Harry said, "you've slept through the rest of yesterday and all of last night. It's morning now, mate. How's the arm?"

"My arm?" he repeated, blinking a few times, "...MY ARM!"

Something had finally switched on in his brain and everything came rushing back to him: Sakura putting him to sleep, seeing all his friends again, drinking the Skele-Gro potion...

He sat up, ignoring the painful spinning in his head for moving too quickly after being immobile for so long, and tore the sheet off his body to see if the potion had worked or not.

Silence reigned over the room as the three tried to process exactly what had become of his arm.

It was a skeleton.

The top half of his arm was as normal as it always was; lean muscles coated with spotless, tan skin. But just below the elbow the skin had closed off and two bones had sprouted out of the middle of the nub end, curving around each other to form the ulna and radius. Branching off the end of the wrist joint was the stark ivory of his carpals and metacarpals, hanging perpendicular to his forearm. Naruto seemed to be frozen in place, his eyes rounded and pupils dilated with absolute shock.

"This...this is...this is so cool!" Naruto practically squealed, grabbing his boney arm with his good hand just to see what his own bones felt like. They were smooth and warm; he could feel the hum of life flowing through them and knew everything would be alright in a few days.

"Wicked!" Harry breathed, leaning over the bed and poking a listless thumb, "Can you move it?"

"PUT IT AWAY!" Bridget cried, covering her eyes as the boys played around with Naruto's grotesquely skeletal hand. Naruto flapped it around wildly, the bones let out a series of eerie clicks.

"Of course not dumbass!" he nearly bellowed, "I have no muscles to move them with!"

She wasn't surprised in the least when they ignored her— that seemed to happen a lot whenever the two were together—but it didn't stop the painful tick from going off at her temple.

"Oh, try to make shadow puppets with them!"

"Yeah! Good idea!"

"NO! No you idiots, no rickety shadow puppets! Put that damn thing away," Bridget commanded, taking the sheet with her own hands and trying to pull it over that half of Naruto's body all while keeping her distance from the arm itself, "You can't just go waving half-dead arms around like that!"

"Why not?" Naruto pouted, allowing her to yank the blanket over his shoulder so that it draped over him like a toga. She didn't even dignify him with an answer; instead she went to the corner of the room and sat on the guest chair, crossing her arms and legs. Boys were gross.

"So what now?" Harry asked after his fun had been taken away, "Are we staying here for a while? Are we heading off the finish the demons?"

Naruto frowned and shook his head.

"I don't think traveling the countryside is an option anymore. I mean, the Akatsuki are finally taking us seriously so now we really have to watch our backs. They already proved to us that they can use the bijuu as bait so we can't just play into their hands like last time."

Harry nodded, "They sure as hell won't be sending the demons one by one anymore."

"Honestly, I'm surprised we got as far as we did," Naruto admitted, "I mean, I don't understand why the Akatsuki leader didn't act sooner, we were kind of ruining his plans for world domination or whatever."

"I think I do."

Naruto and Bridget both looked at Harry, not because of his answer but because of the grave tone of recollection.

"Back in the second war against Voldemort," –that alone explained the sobriety in his voice—"I was put into many situations that I wasn't prepared for, things that should have killed me. The only reason I survived was because of one of Voldemort's most hindering weaknesses: his arrogance. Because he was so sure that I couldn't figure things out or that I would never have enough power to get by, he never made an actual effort to get rid of me until it was too late. This Akatsuki guy seems to have the same problem."

Harry looked at Naruto. Naruto looked at Bridget. Bridget looked at Harry.

"Makes sense to me," the blonde declared, breaking the somewhat tense silence.

"I bet he has some sort of retarded God complex," Bridget muttered, not realizing how close she was to the truth.

"Hey," Naruto scoffed, willing himself to keep from getting discouraged with such a formidable opponent ahead of him, "who better to take down a God than a demon, right?"

Harry stared at him for a moment, his face finally melting into a genuine grin.

"Amen."

"So does this mean you two are going to take a little vacation?" Bridget asked hopefully from her corner chair. She knew the both of them were extremely powerful beings, but they could still be hurt (Naruto had recently proved that) and constant fighting only increased their chances of that. She didn't want to stop their quest; she only wanted them to slow down a bit. "You two have definitely earned one."

"Um...I guess..." Naruto was hesitant to find an answer to that. He knew if he stayed in Konoha that eventually the Akatsuki would come to him, and he could not allow that. But until his arm healed there really wasn't much they could do.

"We can't do much otherwise," Harry said, voicing Naruto's thoughts out loud, "I mean, we're at a bit of a standstill here; the Akatsuki have to make the next move since we have almost no usable information on them."

"Yeah, they've probably relocated their base by now, so that rules out ambushing them," Naruto speculated while leaning forward and resting his chin on his hand, a small pout adopting his lips.

"Er...I don't think you're ready to take on God-knows how many S-class ninja in addition to the Yonbi, Shichibi, and Hachibi. Sorry, I just don't see that happening," Harry deadpanned. Naruto's bottom lip protruded out a little farther, amplifying his pout.

"You just have no faith in me—"

He broke off as the click-click of heels alerted him of someone's approach, the powerful but comforting aura recognizable almost as much as the scent of sake, oak and flora. He had already prepared himself before the shadow behind the door could slide it open.

"Hey, baa-chan! Check it!" Naruto yelled out, using his right hand to operate his skeletal side into waving at her.

Tsunade was caught between the door and the side panel, only one leg making wholly into the room before she was stunned to a halt. She was facing three individuals, two of which she didn't know, and the third as boisterous and bizarre as she remembered him, acting so familiar with her despite their abrupt and extensive separation. She hadn't talked to the blonde in almost two years—her time with him brief when he first arrived unconscious—and now here he was being every bit the idiot she knew him to be. Naturally she freaked out.

"WHAT THE HELL, BRAT!!! WHAT IS THIS? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELF??"

Everyone on that floor of the hospital—nurses, doctors and patients alike—froze with uneasiness, all knowing that voice and knowing the one responsible for it would most likely end up out a window.

Back in the hospital room, Naruto had his hand clamped on one of his ears while trying to use his shoulder to cover the other one.

"Oi! Don't yell at me! Can't you see I'm maimed?!"

Tsunade strode right past the unfamiliar boy and girl, approaching the bed at such a brisk and dangerous pace that Naruto was already wincing. The next thing he knew was a soft body pulling him into a tight, warm hug. Naruto opened his eyes.

"You are never leaving this village again, you here me?" she choked out into his neck, her grip tightening around his body. Though those arms could crush a man effortlessly, Naruto wasn't worried in the least. Chuckling at her overprotective but irrational declaration, he brought his own arm up and returned the affection.

"I missed you too Baa-chan," he whispered into her long blonde hair. He realized in that moment how much he missed the woman; Kagome had been motherly to him in the last couple years and he loved her for it, but Tsunade was the first mother-figure in his life, and he could never forget that.

The sentimental reunion came to an abrupt end when Naruto released a loud yelp after feeling a sharp pinch on his lower back.

"Stop calling me that, brat," Tsunade grinned in spite of herself. She stood back so she could finally get a good look at him. The Kyuubi had certainly made its mark on the boy, there was no denying that, but his personality and general disposition seemed to be untouched and that was all that mattered to her.

What shocked her was his hair. With the added length and downward angles it had lost the all-over spikes that used to make him look so much like his father. The new style coupled with the red highlights and his maturing face was what threw her for the loop—it made him resemble in mother in a way. She could see Kushina in him more than ever before.

"Oh, Baa-chan"—insert eye twitch—"This is Harry and that's Bridget, Inuyasha's daughter. They're going to hang around here with me for a while, ok?"

Harry and Bridget remained silent and stood side by side as the beautiful but intimidating Hokage scrutinized them under a critical eye. She could sense their power, particularly the male's, and though her medical abilities allowed her to note that their chakra canals were hardened like any normal civilian, they had a different kind of energy flowing through them. She could only assume it was magic.

"Naruto, you know there are laws about bringing in people who are not civilian..."

Naruto waved off her unnecessary griping.

"Baa-chan, come on," he said with ease, "they saved me from Hell and trained me to save the world. They're cool."

She looked at the two still-silent strangers, who countered her look with identical cheesy grins. She sighed in resignation, honestly having no problem with either of them.

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine. And what happened to your cat?"

Harry blanched and Bridget bit her lip. Naruto pointed to the bespectacled man.

"Right there."

"That...is your cat," she repeated dryly, looking once again at the young man who didn't resemble a cat in the slightest.

"Yep, that's my cat."

"I'm not your damn cat!" said 'cat' burst out in anger, "and don't talk about me like I'm not bloody here!"

Tsunade jumped at the sudden outburst from the once noiseless individual.

"Bad kitty," Naruto mock scolded causing Bridget to giggle, Tsunade to blink, and Harry to blush through his glower. Taking pity on the poor woman who wasn't getting any sense out of either boy, Bridget decided to undertake most of the talking.

"What Naruto means is that Harry has the ability to turn into a cat. Harry and I are both magical beings—a witch and a wizard—and as such we can train to become animagus. This means we gain the ability to transform ourselves into a specific animal. Harry's form is a demon cat, and he's been traveling around with Harry as a supervisor of sorts."

Tsunade gave the girl a grateful smile, taking an unconscious note of the features that resembled the handsome man who came to visit her all those months ago. She was most certainly his daughter. She also noticed the lightening bolt scar on Harry's forehead as well as the unique green eyes and black hair—all of which were present on the small cat.

"Alright, I've got to get back to work so I'm going to put your arm in a cast while your arm finishes healing; we can't have you running around looking like that. I'd rather you stay in the hospital until—"

"No, no, no, no!" Naruto quickly interrupted and looking upset, "You're not holding me hostage here for no reason. My legs work fine and I'm pretty much healed. I want to see everyone!" the last part came out more like a whine and Tsunade had to smile at the characteristic response that once would have annoyed her into punching him through a wall.

"Then stay here for a little while longer and rest," Tsunade coaxed as she set to work on wrapping his forearm and hand in a chakra-enhanced plaster. "Whatever happened to your chakra still has some lingering affects. It seems your chakra flow has yet to reach its normal speed."  
"Yeah, that would be the spiritual energy we were up against," Harry interjected, speaking to her directly for the first time, "Spiritual energy slows down our flow of youki until it comes to a complete stop, and that's when it starts to kill us."

"All the more reason for you to sit tight and rest a bit more," Tsunade concluded to the falling face of the other blonde, "even you can't bounce back from an experience like that."

"Wanna bet…" Naruto grouched under his breath. Tsunade turned a sharp eye on him.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

With a satisfied smile she leaned forward, giving him a beautiful view of her cleavage, and planted a light kiss on his forehead.

"Welcome home," she whispered, pulling away and heading out the room. Before she left she turned back one last time, "and you better still be here when I come to check on you later."

Naruto said nothing as she closed the door behind her; he was too busy observing the lightweight cast that even covered his fingers. Not a single bone was visible.

"She's hot!"

The accurate statement came from the only girl in the room, leaving her under the bewildered stares of both demon hunters.

"What?" she asked innocently, "She is."

Shaking his head at the absurdity of it all, Naruto began his clumsy climb over the tiny railing on the side of his bed. The second his bare feet hit the cold linoleum tiles he stumbled around the room in his boxers looking for his clothes—not bothered at all that Bridget was standing there; the girl had seen him in less.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for my damn clothes, what does it look like I'm doing?" Naruto retorted, needlessly looking under a chair.

"I brought you some right here," Harry pointed at another chair on the other side of the room with a few folded articles of clothing.

"Thanks," Naruto said brightly. Bridget frown disapprovingly at him, hesitant to go against anything the Hokage had ordered. Despite the woman's attractive appearance, it would take a fool to think she was someone to be trifled with.

"Um...didn't Tsunade say you had to stay here...?"

"Trust me, I know this gig." He grumbled as he inspected the clothes brought to him with an approving eye, "Its all '_just stay here for a little while longer'_ and then_ 'oh, just until the end of the day'_ and then _'I think there's something wrong with your head, you should stay another night'_. They fuck with you to keep you here longer. It's all a conspiracy! Hey, help me get these on."

Rolling his eyes, Harry helped Naruto put on his favorite pair of white-washed jeans and a brown, long-sleeved shirt (which took a bit of effort getting over his cast). When he was finally all dressed the blonde perched himself on the sill of his escape window.

"Alright! Now let's go to Ichiraku's!"

Neither Harry nor Bridget made any motion to follow him.

"Ichiraku's?"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Civilians dived to the left and lunged to the right, clearing a path as quickly as they could to avoid the storming pink haired kunoichi. Her warpath tore through the center of town; she kicked open store doors and upturned fruit carts all for the self-appointed mission of trying to track down a certain hospital escapee. She had woken up that morning warm in her bed and feeling lighter than she had in years. Her mind was set on visiting her new boyfriend (well she hoped he was at any point) and perhaps "talking" some more with him. So when she arrived in his room to find the sheets kicked all over the floor and his bed empty, her short temper was set off to a good kick start for that day.

The tiny bistro of Ichiraku's ramen came into her fatal view and somehow she knew that blonde idiot of hers would be there. Peels of feminine laugher floated out from within into the street, further increasing her ire. He was soooo going to get it.

She approached the stand and pulled back the hanging flap to the sight of an impractical number of empty bowls stacked up, three patrons seated at the bar (one of which who was about to get walloped) and Teuchi and his daughter, both looking more happy than she had seen them in a long time.

"...and then the giant squid picked us up by the back of our pants and gave us the worst wedgies ever!"

The assembled group broke out into laugher once more and Sakura felt irritation well inside of her as she watched Ayame lean over the countertop with her giggles as she listened to Naruto chattered on. In mid word Naruto's nose appeared to twitch and his head whipped around so fast she was almost afraid for his spine, landing his sight on her.

"Sakura-chan!"

All anger was wiped clean from her face simply from the sparkling adoration in his eyes. His entire being seemed to light up at the very sight of her and something about it made her feel so warm and wanted inside. Once again she found herself struggling to stay mad at him. The boy didn't seem to register the cross look she adorned when she first arrived and hopped off of the swiveling chair to properly welcome her.

Sakura felt her face heat up once she got a good look at Naruto in his foreign clothes. They way they enfolded his body made him took more lean and tall, adding a couple of years to his age. In addition to this, the more neutral colors seemed to make his hair and eyes only stand out further. She noticed the slight swell of one of the sleeves and saw the thick encasing of a cast around the protruding hand, rightly deducing that whatever Inuyasha had done the day before was working. Her visual study was cut off once he caught her in a strong, one-armed hug and gave her a direct peck on the lips in way of greeting.

Now she definitely wasn't mad at him, but that didn't stop her from trying. She placed two hands on his chest, pulling her head back so she could look him in the eye but keeping the length of her body pressed against his, making sure his arm stayed around her waist.

"You left the hospital," even her voice sounded too light for her liking and she doubled her efforts in keeping a scowl on her face. Naruto gave her an embarrassed grin.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, I was fine. You know I can't stay there long. It kills my spirit," she snorted at that, glad that he hadn't lost his dramatic flare, "Oh yeah, and I want you to meet Bridget—"

The only girl seated at the ramen bar waved cheerily at her. She was very pretty, with amber eyes that she had only ever seen before on that Inuyasha guy's hanyou form. Sakura knew she had a problem with jealousy—always had and always will—and under normal circumstances she might have felt the slightest bit of resentment towards the other woman for being so close to Naruto while displaying such attractiveness. But something unseen and almost primeval exuded from the final man that made her subconsciously aware that she belonged to him and he her.

"—And I believe you've already met Harry."

Sakura stared at the black haired man with the emerald green eyes that seemed to glint back at her, daring her to say something.

"Harry...the cat—?"

"I'M NOT A CAT!"

A loud smack sounded through the tiny food-stand as Bridget whacked him into silence.

"Don't be so damn rude! She doesn't know any better!"

"Bridget! You made me spill my ramen!"

"He's a wizard so he can turn himself into a nekomata," Naruto whispered gutturally into her ear. She tried to suppress the pleased shudder than ran through her body; his voice, low and husky, was hot against her ear and the pressure that continued to keep their bodies pressed together kept her from understanding what he was actually saying. Unable to help herself, she pulled his head down to meet her own in a slow, sensuous kiss. For once there was no tongues involved or desperate grabbing; their lips smoothed along together, lingering in that moment, each relishing the feel of being in the other's arms while drowning out the bickering and bustling outside their world.

Despite all that happened yesterday in the hospital, Naruto still had difficulty believing this was happening. Sakura was with him for real now and she was letting him kiss her, letting him hold her, letting him love her exactly how he wanted to with no retribution. She had Sasuke in her reach the whole time he was gone yet she had waited for him. Maybe, just maybe, he could end up with everything he wanted. To start out with nothing and end up with everything—he had to suppress a chuckle—that was the American dream.

Sakura reluctantly pulled away from his lips, running her tongue over her own to savor the taste of him.

"I got another shift at the hospital coming up," she explained softly and Naruto had no trouble hearing her over Bridget's yells and Harry's cries. Naruto nodded silently and released her.

"Hey," he said, suddenly tugging her arm back to keep her from leaving just yet. She looked at him curiously as a small blush rose on his cheeks, "Does...does this mean you're my girlfriend?"

Inside Sakura was bursting with joy and inner Sakura was already dizzy from running in circles, but on the outside she opted to display a coy smile.

"Why? Are you asking?"

Naruto grinned widely, not fooled in the least from the smell of her excitement and the thrilled flicker of her aura.

"Are you accepting?"

Her smile, if possible, stretched even wider.

"How can I resist?" she said, pulling him in for one last kiss, "As long as you're prepared for that kind of responsibility—I'm not an easy girl to please."

"I know," he replied, kissing her back and then guiding her towards the exit, "That's why I love you."

The villagers were left to wonder at the magic of Ichiraku's Ramen; the stampeding whirlwind of anger that was the Hokage's apprentice entered the simple looking lean-to only to reemerge minutes later looking like she just got a puppy for Christmas, a bounce in her step and a fluid melody on her lips.

"What the hell, forehead? Did you win the lottery?"

Sakura stopped her tuneless humming and turned her head to meet an eyeful of purple. Ino had taken up a pace next to her and was looking highly amused.

"If you must know, piggy, I'm happy because we've made it official."

"We?"

"Naruto and I."

An immediate realization dawned on the long-haired girl's face before she settled for a look of half excitement and half disappointment.

"Aw man."

"What do you mean 'aw man'?" Sakura demanded. She almost stopped walking for a proper confrontation but she was already running late as it was and, happy mood or no, she did not want to get on the bad side of her master.

Ino was hasty to reply, waving her hands in front of her as a weak defense.

"No, no, no, no! Don't get me wrong, this is great! I mean, everyone saw this long coming, ever since he returned with Jiraiya-sama—" Not for the first time Sakura found herself wondering if she really had been as obvious as Hinata back then, "—It's just...well...it looks like you ended up with the better man after all."

Sakura looked at her friend piercingly, taking in the closed eyes, wide smile and nervous chuckle. Ino and Naruto were never very close, but she knew of Ino's tendency to get attached to things that were obviously out of her reach. Of course, Naruto's accomplishments coupled with his developing good looks and insane power would be cause for attraction from all sorts of other women, and she was prepared to deal with that. But something told her that this had less to do with Naruto and more to do with her.

"Ino..." she started, "the better man is who you decided it is, not who looks the best in their chuunin vest."

The pair laughed and Ino seemed to brighten slightly.

"I know, I know. I just find it sad that I'm so damn good looking but I can't seem to get a decent guy!"

"Modestly might help you there..."

Ino laughed again and gave her friend a playful shove.

"But seriously, Hinata has Sasuke—and don't you dare deny it, they're about as obvious as you and Naruto—and Shikamaru has that sand chick, Chouji has Ayame—"

"Wait! Ichiraku Ayame?"

"Yep. And she's about five years older than him!"

"Oooh, Chouji with an older woman..." Sakura grinned, obviously planning on using the information to tease the young man later.

"The point is," Ino stressed, knocking Sakura from her inner diabolical plans, "that I'm one of the only ones still single."

Sakura brushed off her rants with a roll of her eyes.

"Pfft, stop exaggerating. What about Tenten or Kiba or Lee or any of them? They're still single too. Honestly, you put too much importance on romance."

"Hey, you can't talk," Ino said, "You're dating the Wind Runner, do you even realize that?"

"Mmm, you're right" Sakura grinned to herself, visually imaging Naruto as she last saw him in her head, "By the way, did you see the pants Naruto was wearing?"

Ino gasped, "No! Why, are they hot?"

Sakura's eyes glittered with levity, "And they're not orange! I think they're from—uh, where he was training...anyway, they look really great on him. They really complement his ass!"

The two girls squealed and giggled like they were twelve again, gaining many disapproving looks from the older populace. They had arrived at the hospital and prepared to part ways.

"I guess I'll just have to go see for myself while you're working," Ino laughed smoothly, prancing in the other direction towards her home.

"Go for it," was Sakura's unexpected reply as she walked through the automatic entrance. Ino giggled disbelievingly.

"You don't mind me ogling your boyfriend?"

Sakura made a show of shrugging and called back, "Everyone else is going to do it, at least you have my permission."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Where the fuck are we?"

Harry looked at Naruto as he always looked at him: like he was an idiot.

"Your home."

Naruto shifted his jaw out and to the side, observing everything around him with half-lidded eyes.

"No. This is not my home. My home is an eighth of this size and I do NOT own a plasma TV. I don't even think plasma TVs _exist_ in this world.

"Awww, come on," Bridget cooed, tugging on one of his cheeks and painfully stretching a side of whiskers, "Admit it, you love it."

Naruto couldn't deny that he was extremely impressed with the improvements in his residence. In fact, the only factor adding to the disturbance in his tone could be attributed to shock alone. The second he stepped through the shitty door of his apartment he was treated to the sight of the expansive living room alone. The colors were brighter, the furniture was updated and the entire layout of the house had changed. Stumbling through the rest of the apartment showed a big change to the bathroom and kitchen as well as the bedroom. A perversion that would make Jiraiya proud filtered his thoughts as his eyes lingered on the queen sized bed a bit longer than necessary.

"But how...?"

"Well, we used some expansion charms and a little transfiguration—mostly on Bridget's part—"

"—Yeah, 'cause this idiot dropped out of school—"

"...I was dead. Anyway, I bought some new furniture in addition to the transfigured ones, got you some food—though Bridget picked out most of it so there's not much rame—"

"You bought stuff? Using what money?" Naruto interrupted him. Harry looked confused for a moment before laughing it off.

"I always have money, don't worry about—"

"Harry you shouldn't spend money on me like that," Naruto said with a frown. He had been independent his whole life and, while he could accept a gift, he didn't like people having to spend anything on him. "I mean the groceries...?"

"It's cool," Harry waved off his worries, "I'm the rich orphan, remember?"

Naruto couldn't help but grin; he knew Harry still had more money than he ever cared for and was not averse to giving it away.

"Yeah, yeah. You guys...thank you. A lot. This, this is..."

"A real home now?" Bridget suggested. She was quite disgusted with the living conditions the boy was forced to deal with. Not that the place was very dirty when they arrived—there were obvious signs of it being cleaned in his absence—but the leaky pipes and shoddy foundation were appalling to her as someone who had always had a very comfortable lifestyle. It didn't take much effort in persuading Harry to help fix the entire apartment for the better.

"With soundproof walls," Harry added, a sprightly grin sliding onto his face to accompany the sidelong glanced to Bridget. Naruto stared at the both of them.

"What?"

"We also added a washer and dryer to you're household appliances," Bridget said conversationally as if she hadn't caught onto any innuendos regarding the walls, "the Laundromat around here is sketchy as hell. If I had known you lived in the ghetto I would have brought my 45."

"You don't have a 45," Harry said lamely.

"Well then you should buy me one," she decided as she crossed her arms.

"You could always borrow my Desert Eagle, seeing as it's _already here_."

Harry gave Naruto a hard look and the blonde responded with a cheeky grin while waving around his casted arm.

"So I have a washing machine and soundproof walls? Everything a man needs."

"That and a kiss from my father," Bridget snickered quietly while knowing full well that both boys could hear her. "Now show me some of those training grounds you guys have around here. Harry wouldn't let me wander while you were in the hospital and I really want to show you guys the latest curses I've learned."

Harry and Naruto exchanged slightly apprehensive looks.

"You mean you want to use us as guinea pigs?" Harry rephrased for her. Bridget didn't look dismayed in the least at their resistance.

"Why not?" she challenged, "You can handle the pain can't you?"

"How about we go check out training grounds 44," Naruto suggested as an alternative. "You'll find plenty of things to test out your curses on in there."

"Training grounds 44?"

"Yeah. Also known as...the forest of death!" he said the last bit spectacularly, knowing the title would successfully lure the pair in like a bicycle in a sketchy van to kids.

"Yeah!" Harry cheered like a child, "Let's go play in the forest of death!"

"Let's go!" Bridget agreed, linking an arm to each of the guys and steering them towards the door.

It took close to two minutes of being ushered around by the assertive young woman before Naruto finally grasped earlier parts of the conversation.

"...wait, Inuyasha kissed me?!"

"Welcome to the club."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Inuyasha came to pick up Bridget three days later, and those past three days had been some of the best Naruto ever remembered experiencing in Konoha. News of his arrival had spread throughout the village the very day he escaped the hospital (which he ended up paying dearly for once Tsunade got her hands on him). It wasn't just his arrival that had the village in a stir—it was the arrival of the Wind Runner. Now that he had been grounded in the presence of people for so long his identity had been revealed, and surprisingly the people were quite taken with the idea—many stating that they had known it was him all along. Gone were the stares of disgust and silent loathing, gone were the harsh whispers and turned backs, now when he walked down the street he was followed by stares of a different kind. People gave him shy waves and excited smiles, shopkeepers welcomed him into their stores and restaurants offered him discounts.

He was no longer the demon of Konoha or the dead last; the name Wind Runner became a permanent fixture to Uzumaki Naruto. He had a title known throughout the world; he had officially made his mark. Like the Yondaime was the 'Yellow Flash', like Kakashi-sensei was the 'Copy-Cat Ninja', like Tsunade was the 'Legendary Sucker', he was the 'Wind Runner'. Even if he never made Hokage he would still be remembered and respected by the ninja world, and more importantly by Konoha.

...not that this was even an option; Hokage was still a must for him.

His arm was almost completely healed, his abilities speeding up as his chakra paths returned to their normal flow. He estimated that he could get Tsunade to take the cast off sometime in the next couple of days. Or perhaps even Sakura-chan if he played his cards right...

A knock sounded at the door and despite the early hour of that Saturday morning both he and Harry were awake (though barely) on the new plush couch enjoy the benefits of owning a plasma TV...no matter how misplaced it was in that world. Naruto, still in his comfy pair of sweats and a wife-beater, threw the other equally pajama-clad boy a tired look, silently willing him to take the call. Harry looked back at him with a mouth full of cereal, the bowl held close to his face in his curled up position on the other end of the couch. His cheeks were puffed out as he scowled defiantly. Naruto knew he wasn't getting up.

Sluggishly pulling himself out of the warmth of the couch he trudged over to the door and swung it open, eyes half-closed. A blast of icy wind hit the bare skin of his arms, raising goosebumps all over his body.

It was Sakura on the other side; her face still flushed from her walk through the chilled morning air and bundled up to her neck in a plaid coat. He could literally feel her eyes raking him up and down, making him feel even more exposed.

"M-morning," he yawned, stepping aside so that she could enter. She passed the threshold so that she could allow him to shut the door behind her and made it no further. She had only been in his home a handful of time, most of which were when he was away and she stopped by to keep it clean. This looked almost nothing like his home.

"Don't ask," his voice was so close to her ear she almost jumped, "Bridget's a witch, Harry's a wizard, they got a little magic-happy, you get the idea..."

She nodded faintly, secretly itching to see the rest of the place if this was what the living room looked like, and gave her boyfriend a good morning peck on the lips.

Naruto grinned at her, rubbing the sleep out of his eye.

"You just missed Bridget; Inuyasha came and took her away. Kicking and screaming. That's why we're awake."

"Bridget made a fuss about leaving?" Sakura presumed in understanding, "I figured I would end up having to wake you, but I guess she did it for me."

Naruto shook his head.

"I was talking about Inuyasha."

Sakura looked at him, expecting him to be joking, but he appeared completely serious.

"Yep," a voice drawled from the couch. "He kicked us out of our beds while screaming. Merlin, my arse still hurts. Hi Sakura."

Sakura leaned over to see Harry stretched along the length of the couch, a television control held loosely in his hand and an empty cereal bowl on the floor by his head.

"Hi Harry." She thought he still looked a bit like a cat with his posture as it was, but opted against saying so after thinking back to the reaction he had last time.

"To make matters worse, Bridget helped in the kicking," Naruto grumbled, rubbing his back, "Damn psycho."

"I'm not surprised. I mean, look at the man who raised her."

Sakura stared from one man to the next, not knowing what to make of the strange conversation. She shrugged out of her coat and scarf, laying them on the arm of the couch. She felt a hand touch the small of her back as Naruto began speaking.

"I'm going to get dressed and stuff, I'll be right back. Harry, why don't you show her the wonders of plasma TV?"

"'K."

"What?" Sakura took notice of the huge screen before her for what felt like the first time, hardly noticing Naruto pass behind her, "What is that?"

"A big ass TV," Harry replied.

"Yes, I can see that," Sakura said dryly, "But where did you get it? I've never seen a screen that wide or flat before, not on a television anyway."

"Secrets," was the irritating single-word answer. She didn't know what to make of Harry at the moment. It was obvious that he was very close to Naruto; they seemed to have a deeper relationship than she ever saw between Naruto and Sasuke. But the man also seemed a bit detached from those he interacted with aside from Naruto and Bridget. Perhaps she just needed to give him more time; Naruto did seem to make a habit of getting close to people who took a while in opening up.

As she went to sit down on the end of the couch a folded up piece of news paper on the coffee table caught her eye. She picked it up and unfolded it, seeing that it was a cut-out of an article.

"What's this?" she asked Harry, not really expecting an answer as she began to read the clipping.

"_**International Eye Candy: Demon Hunters Show Some Skin!"**_

"_Demon Hunters Harry Potter and Naruto Uzumaki are shocking the world once more, but this time using their bodies rather than brawn..."_

"Wha..." she had to re-read the title several times and the article several more. A photo accompanied the title and if the motion within the picture didn't shock her enough the contents sure did. A spectacle of two shirtless boys wresting along the top of a lake replayed in the crinkled black and white.

"Oh fuck..." Sakura jumped. She had been so enthralled with what she was reading that she hadn't noticed Harry reading over shoulder, "It's the Hogwarts fiasco."

"Is this...is this you two?" she whispered, her eyes glued to the erotic photograph. She was so taking this home with her.

Harry nodded wordlessly and mused, "How did she get her hands on a Japanese newspaper?"

"What are you guys looking at?"

Sakura didn't know why she felt guilty, but she didn't want to let go of the article as her boyfriend gently took it from her hands and looked it over. It was almost comical the way the color drained out of Naruto's face and his mouth fall open.

"Wh-where...how did you get this?"

"Bridget left it for us," Harry said gaily, "Wasn't that sweet of her?"

"I don't understand," Sakura said as she tried to look at the clipping that Naruto was attempting to keep out of her sight, "Is that real? Did that really happen?"

"Of course it is! Didn't Naruto tell you? He's a sex icon back in my world," Sakura turned her bewildered stare on a furiously blushing Naruto as Harry continued, "the media loves us, especially when we pull shit like this!"

"Harry, why aren't you upset by this?! You're in here too!" Naruto exploded as he slapped the paper a few times with his hand. "How can you be encouraging this?"

Harry scratched the back of his ear disinterestedly.

"Why are you freaking out so much? You didn't seem to care when this stuff first came out."

"I didn't have to care then, it wasn't my world!"

"So you can't get angry at me now if it's the same bloody situation!" Harry snapped.

"Yes I can!" Naruto yelled back unreasonably.

"Then you're a fucking hypocrite!"

"No, I'm an angry hypocrite!"

And suddenly the two were laughing. A lot. Sakura could feel a bead of sweat form on the back of her head as she watched to two previously arguing men all over each other in their hilarity. Strange relationship indeed.

Naruto toned down as he noticed Sakura still eyeing the newspaper clipping clutched in his hand.

"You're not mad about this are you?" he asked apprehensively. He was every bit aware of her jealousy issues as she was; not concerning him, but he had seen how she and Ino interacted regarding Sasuke back in the academy. It wasn't pretty.

She smiled demurely, stepping up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Of course not," she whispered against his lips, a breath away from kissing him. Just as he was tempted into leaning forwards onto her mouth she hopped back, the clipping in her hand, "as long as I get to keep this as a souvenir."

Naruto looked like he wanted to argue but wisely chose to let her keep it, counting his blessings that she didn't mind that there were thousands of teenage girls from another world with pictures of him on their walls.

"Alright," he sighed. "But don't go showing that around to people. I'm trying to get people to take me seriously here."

Sakura laughed, causing him to sulk further, and gave him that kiss she teased him with earlier.

"I might show the girls, but I'll swear them to secrecy," she giggled at his annoyed look and pecked his chin consolingly.

"So what brought you around here so early anyway?" Naruto asked, keeping his arm around her shoulders and holding her close to his body.

Her eyebrows rose as she remembered exactly why she came. "I heard Mitarashi Anko complaining to Tsunade-shishou about something with the Forest of Death. It sounded so strange I figured it might have had something to do with you. That and I wanted to see you."

"She was complaining about the Forest of Death?" Harry repeated slowly, looking at Naruto in a way that told her they did know something of it.

"Yeah," she spoke with suspicion, "It was really weird. Apparently a whole colony of giant wasps was found with technicolored stingers and their wings appeared to be melted into deformities. That and the smoldering giant spider limbs all over the forest floor..."

She was forced to endure another long round of raucous laughter.

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Words cannot describe how sorry I am. Seriously, I have fallen out of my schedule and made you all wait for two weeks. And to make matters worse, this chapter really has nothing to add to the plot. Nothing really good or interesting happening at all...just another transition chapter. For shame!

I have a good excuse, though I doubt many of you would care; I was working on what I liked to call "the project from hell", sitting on my bed with my laptop and papers all over the place for days on end. It was horrible.

But the work load doesn't end there—tests up the wazoo, I tell ya. Hopefully I can survive until Turkey day, and if I get the next chapter out by next week I pretty much kick ass. But don't get your hopes up.

Now that all that sad shit is out of the way, I can promise you that the next chapter will have some good stuff. GOOOOOD STUUUUUUFFF.

Thanks to **strider741** for putting up with me trying to correct this thing, and thanks to all of you for reviewing. Holy hell, there are over 800 reviews...on a triple xover!! If that's not insanity that I don't know what is.


	24. Out of the Closet

**WARNING: THIS FIRST SCENE CONTAINS GRAPHIC LIME/LEMON (scroll down if you can't handle it)**

**Chapter 24**

Uzumaki Naruto was the proud operator of a healthy, working left arm—which was currently being put to good use under his girlfriend's skirt.

"Ah! There! Right there!"

A nurse walking down the third floor corridor paused; her pen hovered over her clipboard in mid jot as she strained her ears against the silence. After receiving no other sounds save for her own breathing she shrugged and continued her path, walking past the janitorial closet.

Naruto and Sakura were looking at each other with baited breath as they listened to the fading footsteps on the other side of the door. The sound of their own blood rushing in their ears and their heavy panting was nearly deafening in the tiny room.

"Is...is she gone?" Sakura puffed, her intense breathing raised blonde hairs to tickle her nose. She was perched on a floor cabinet, seated just high enough to elevate her a few inches above Naruto. The young man's only response was to grin up at her and twist the fingers hidden between her legs, gently pinching her clitoris.

"Ahh-mmmph!" her verbal appreciation was muffled when Naruto stretched forwards and stilled her lips with his own, making sure to keep her mouth occupied as his fingers applied more pressure to the sensitive nub, tracing along the folds of her inner labia. His entire hand was wet with her juices. He pulled his lips away when she made a desperate attempt to deepen the kiss, leaving her pink tongue poking out between her lips in disappointment. His mouth drifted from corner of her lips along her cheek with the same, agonizingly slow pace that his fingers were moving in.

A high-pitched whinge reverberated from her throat as she thrust her pelvis against his wrist in an attempt to get the two fingers toying with her entrance to slip inside her. The arm bracing her back gripped her hip threateningly and he chuckled darkly against her jawbone; he shifted the two digits further away in a punishing manner, pressing down on her clit with his thumb and making her yell out once more. Her cry dwindled to a whimper when he nipped at the pale skin that covered the rapid pulse beating below her jaw.

"Not so loud, Sakura_-chan_," he scolded, his voice raw with lust, "you're going to get us caught."

He finished his demand by slipping his middle finger inside of her, hooking around inner side of her pubic bone and pushing forcefully against the rough patch of tissue. Her already stimulated body reacting beautifully as she arched back far enough for her head to hit the wall behind her, her mouth opening wordlessly as she was thrown into a pre-orgasmic state.

The way he handled her, the way addressed her—rough but meticulous, deadly but loving—she delighted in it. When she was a child, back in her Sasuke-worshiping days, she used to believe that she would share one passionate and sensual night with the ideal man, exploring every sexual possibility together for the first time with in those few hours. But that was a fantasy and only fantasies could have one encounter involve every intimate experience to be explored. She learned that in real life nothing happened all at once. In real life your boyfriend would show up at your work and drag you into a janitor's closet in the middle of your shift and molest you against the mops and buckets. Personally, she much preferred this, with his fingers exploring areas known only to her own.

"St-stop teasing me, you b-bastard," she whined at the maddening pattern his finger fell into, gently massaging her G-spot and building up her orgasm, then ceasing until it began to dwindle before starting up once more.

Her head was spinning in vertigo as Naruto held her hostage on the brink of release. Her eyes were closed as she concentrating on every tingle and impression, hardly aware of Naruto pressing against her as his hands ceased their pleasuring and cupped under her thighs. In a daze she helplessly watched him push her skirt up around the curve of her butt until it was left bunched around her stomach and then slide her dark-grey boy-shorts down her legs so that they dangled just below her knees. She was exposed to him completely, a trimmed layer of pink hairs left as her only shelter. She blushed when he did nothing but stand back and admire her most private area, a pleased smile on his face.

"You know, back in the academy we used to make bets on whether you were naturally pink."

"...What?!" patches on her cheekbones reddened at the embarrassing information. Her hands automatically moved to cover herself.

"Don't," he laughed, catching both her wrists and holding them out to the sides. He was positioned against the cabinet so that his hips were right between her knees, forcing her legs apart and leaving her on full display.

"Naruto..."she whimpered piteously with a feeble struggle, suddenly hating the situation she was in. Keeping her wrists where they were he leaned forwards and gave her a chaste, comforting kiss.

"You're beautiful," he assured her, kissing her once again with more force and giving two light nips to her bottom lip. "You're perfect."

She sighed at his words, allowing him to release her wrists without retaliation. His hands slid down her body as he lowered himself to her knees, stopping at her thighs and spreading her legs a little further apart. Her sex was inches in front of his face, pearly beads dripping from the swollen lips and darkening the stained wood of the cabinet top; a blast of her fragrance, thick with arousal, met his senses and he fought off the primal urge to take her right there.

Sakura felt her face heat up even more, this time not from embarrassment, but at the arousing sight of his face being so close to her vagina and him looking up at her, his eyes unusually dark yet glowing with a smoldering desire. He smiled before he set to work, first laying light butterfly kisses all over the sensitive skin on the insides of her pale thighs, working his way closer and closer to his goal.

When he reached the joint of her hip he moved in an arch over her aching heat, nipping and kissing and sucking at her pubic mound. Sakura automatically braced her hands on the edge of the cabinet, pushing herself forward so that her butt was almost halfway off of the countertop, unknowingly giving Naruto easier access to her inner fold. His eyes closed for that moment and he allowed his tongue to map out the forbidden territory, his demonic hearing picking up every hitch of breath and whimper and using it as encouragement.

One of Sakura's hands flew to the top of his head and gripped his hair, daring him to try and stop at this point. Absorbed as he was in his task, Naruto couldn't help but look up using his eyes alone and was glad he did. Her other arm had her braced against the shelf above her head, her body arched backwards and her head tilted back in rapture, leaving a breathtaking sight from his perspective. Fingernails dug into his scalp, telling him to get a move on.

His tongue moved in languid motions, up and down, in between the inner and outer labia, occasionally sucking on each receptive division of flesh accompanied by a few playful nips.

"Keep going, please, please, please, keep going, don't stop, don't stop..."

His ears picked up on her frantic whispers He felt his head being pushed further and further into her womanhood until all that he could breathe was her aroma, making him lightheaded and lustful. His tongue flickered rapidly over the exposed bulb of her clitoris, his bottom teeth scraping up through her opening until he was sucking hard on the pubic mound.

Deciding he had tortured her long enough, he lay his mouth open against her womanhood and slowly pushed his tongue inside her as much as he was physically able. He felt added weight on his head as Sakura's other hand joined the first, her whole body now hunched over and relying on him for support.

The feel of a wet, wriggling muscle pumping in and out of her was nearly the final straw for Sakura. Driven to near delirium she clamped her thighs around his head, her fingers grabbing handfuls of his hair as she rocked against his mouth.

Naruto worked his tongue even faster and brought his formally idle hand from its resting place on her knee to the site of action. His thumb quickly found her clit and began rubbing furiously, intent on bringing her to completion. Muscles contracted and he managed to grin into short, wet, pink hairs.

"Oh God—_NARUTO!!!_"

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A nurse on the second floor looked around sharply, absolutely positive that she had heard something this time.

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0o0o0o

Sakura could feel her strength draining as the last waves of her orgasm died out and she slumped back against the wall behind her, finally releasing her painful hold on his hair, much to his covert relief. Naruto had continued his ministrations, swallowing back the mouthful of clear fluid until he was sure she was finished.

"Naruto...thank you..." Sakura huffed. Naruto stood up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, drinking up the sight before him and locking it away in his memory: Sakura's chest was heaving in a deep, rhythmic pattern—the curve of her modest breasts rose and fell hypnotically—she sagged against the wall with her hair slightly mussed, her legs still spread and underwear tangled around her calves. No one would ever get to see her like this but him. He would make sure of it.

"My pleasure," he murmured allowing her a slight taste of herself as he leaned over her boneless form and kissed her deeply. Sakura moaned and shifted, wrapping both her arms around his neck and using him to pull herself into sitting up.

"Want me to take care of this?" she whispered into the kiss, bringing the tips of her fingers against the firm swell that had developed between his legs. Despite the standard checkups she executed as a medic, she had never truly held one in her hand before, his would be the first, and she nervously anticipated returning the favor.

She frowned when he stepped away from her and out of her reach, almost causing her to mimic his own pout.

"Sadly, that will have to wait for another time. I actually have a meeting with baa-chan that I'm late for. I felt like making a detour on the way over," Sakura couldn't even bring herself to scold him, laughing at his ballsy move, "You better get back to work, you're not even on break."

She gave him a lazy grin and hooked her arm around his neck to pull him in for a rough, messy kiss. She could kiss him forever.

"You're nothing but trouble," she teased.

He chuckled, the deep reverberations resounded from his chest to hers.

"With a capital N," he quipped.

With one last parting kiss Naruto left her with the greatest reluctance, slipping out into the hall inconspicuously and taking off to meet a very irate Hokage.

Sakura felt wonderful as she straightened out her clothes, feeling both relaxed and energized in a way that she had never felt before. Ghostly sensations of the last moments resurfaced, the feel of his hair tickling the insides of her thighs, the thick, hot tongue digging into her, lavishing her with blissful ambiance, the glow of his eyes as he look up at her from his knees...

Unfortunately, she made the mistake of exiting the closet while lost in her recollections.

"Sakura! Where have you been?"

She jumped and clutched a hand to her chest, whirling on the spot to face the tall, slim form of her master's first apprentice.

"Shizune-sempai!" she gasped, portraying nothing but guilt, "I-I, uh, I've been...you see...funny you should ask that—"

"Never mind," she said with a wave of her hand, not suspecting anything thus far, "you disappeared in the middle of your rounds. Ukkate-san hasn't had her bed pan changed yet."

Sakura grimaced as reality began to return to her and she suppressed the urge to just turn around and lock herself back in that closet.

"Right," she said, patting herself down to make sure she looked presentable enough for her patients.

"I just saw Naruto leaving, did you see him?" Shizune said conversationally. She knew of their relationship, of course, but with her humble mentality she believed all the two had ever done was kiss. They had been together for barely a week, what else could they possibly be doing?

Sakura froze in the midst of re-clipping her hair, careful not to make eye contact as she answered.

"I must have missed him."

**END OF LEMON/LIME SCENE**

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0o0o0o

"You're late," the feminine voice floated across the room, hardened with ire, "by almost twenty minutes."

Naruto closed the heavy oak door behind him and gave a mildly apologetic grin.

"Sorry. I was locked in a closet."

Tsunade stared at him; unable to draw anything out of the strange comment other than that he was definitely once a student of Hatake Kakashi. She sighed and rubbed at one of her temples.

"Sit down," she commanded, "I have something I must discuss with you alone. And then you are going to decide what to do about it."

A sudden caution by her words and the lack of violent reaction elicited atypical obedience and he lowered himself into the seat she had set out in front of the desk.

"This is regarding Jiraiya."

"Ero-sennin?"

"Yes. I last time I spoke to him was before I dispatched the team to meet you in Sound. I haven't received word from him since."

Naruto shrugged, unconcerned so far.

"So? He's always off disappearing like that—"

"He was going to confront the leader of the Akatsuki."

The silence felt premature as Tsunade ended her abrupt announcement and Naruto was left with nothing but the slow registering of her statement. She watched as the color evaporated from his face; his claws dug into the fabric of the armrests, tearing into her chair.

"Now do you see why I've called you here?" she asked quietly, "I doubt he's been engaged in battle for this long."

"Do you think he's dead?" Naruto muttered, already not wanting to hear the answer. Tsunade kept all emotion from her face as a good shinobi was known to do.

"I think he's been discovered, perhaps even severely injured so that he cannot return. But dead? I've tried not to entertain the idea, though it is a possibility. Now the question is, what are you going to do?"

Naruto knew what he was going to do, and he knew Tsunade knew as well so he didn't bother answering. Instead he asked, "Why are you letting me decide?"

"He's your sensei," she simply replied. Two years ago Naruto would have started yelling at her by this point for her apparent lack of concern for the ordeal. But he knew better now; he knew she was breaking apart inside.

He nodded and stood.

"I'll bring him back."

He didn't specify in what state he'd bring him back for both their sakes. Tsunade said nothing as he dismissed himself; leaving the room in a somber atmosphere much in the same way Jiraiya had when she last saw him. She only had Naruto back for two weeks and now she was letting him go without opposition, off to a place where the chances of him coming back were extremely slim.

She didn't have the right to stop him even if she could. He wasn't just one of her shinobi any more; he was the Wind Runner, he belonged to the world now.

She pulled out her favorite liquor and prepared herself for a long course of drinking, not caring about the stacks of paperwork that remained unattended or the meeting with the council in an hour regarding a trading route that traversed hostile territory. She was an old woman who had been through too much—she couldn't be the Hokage for much longer, especially in times like this. Her strength may have been super human but heart simply couldn't handle it any more.

She took her first sip of the acrid liquid and leaned back in her chair, completely expecting her apprentice to make a couple brazen visits in the next few hours. The mission papers were already on her desk.

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Ever since Harry Potter became an animagus there were certain aspects of his behavior and being that had changed. He liked to sit up on high places, he did not like getting sprayed in the face by water, and yes, catnip did excite him a bit. One of the most noticeable habits he had developed was naps. He loved to nap. He liked soft things that he could sprawl out and nap on.

He did not like it when a raging blonde interrupted his naps.

"Ooooww…" Harry glared up at said blonde from the hardwood floor he was just knocked onto from the couch. Naruto glared right back down at him.

"Get up. We're leaving."

There was no playful glint in his eye when he said it. The statement was abrupt, unembellished, and straightforward. Harry knew this must have been serious.

"What's going on?" he asked, climbing to his feet and straitening his glasses.

"I'm going to tear Akatsuki a new one, that's what," Naruto growled as he began storming around the apartment.

"Well obviously," Harry called after the boy as he marched down the hall to his bedroom, "But what brought this on?"

Naruto came back into the living room and dumped an armful of scrolls and weapons on the coffee table, scratching it with the many sharp blades.

"They got Jiraiya," Naruto hissed, his eyes lowered as he busied himself with looking over the scrolls. This was not the answer Harry was expecting, though he had to admit that the pair of them had really let their guard down in the short time they spent in Konoha. It was almost as if they had forgotten there was a war going on.

"Your old sensei?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered shortly, "Those fucking—those...ugh. I'm just going to kill them, alright?"

"All of them?" Harry asked incredulously, wincing at how unsympathetic he sounded. But the hostility in Naruto's voice was almost alarming and Harry was forcibly reminded of how he reacted when Inuyasha died back in the third war. He had been unreasonable and impulsive and the world had benefited from it. Whatever Naruto chose to do now, he would follow him.

"The leader, definitely," Naruto said, unaware of Harry's inattention as he trifled through some old kunai for anything he might need—as useless as they seemed to him now. "So many people are getting hurt because of them..."

His hand slowed down their digging and sifting and his eyes lost focus as he thought back to all the pain and suffering the Akatsuki had brought. They killed Asuma, destroyed entire villages before he came back, killing children and tearing apart families. They took Jiraiya, whether the man was dead or severely injured, it didn't matter. They had crossed the line. One of his hands unconsciously gripped the blade of a kunai, but the blade wasn't sharp enough to penetrate the demonically thick skin.

"Right," he said more to himself than anything, shaking out of his thoughts, "Its time to end this."

Harry had yet to move from where he had stood from the floor, keeping a guarded watch on the boy whose hands were almost shaking. He was trying to cover his pain with aggression, not the best tactic but he would have been a hypocrite to call him out on it.

"Who else is coming?" he asked.

"No one," Naruto said with a shake of the head. "Too many people have died already. I'm the jinchuuriki, remember? I'm the only one with any chance of beating them. I was destined for this."

Naruto almost felt sick saying the words but there was no more denying it. There was something oddly convenient about it all, but he hadn't found the time to mull over it.

"I understand that," Harry sighed, "but even so, you don't have to kill every one of them right now. The leader is the one who...got Jiraiya, right? Let's just take him out and pick the rest of them off later. It's not just the bijuu we have to worry about anymore, there are other members who are equally as powerful and we'll need help for those."

"No Harry," Naruto said with decisiveness, a scroll slipped from his fingers and he fumbled to catch it, "this is it. I'm not coming back here until I kill every last one of those Akatsuki fuckers. No more, alright? Just...just no more."

"Naruto..." and Naruto was forcibly stopped from his frantic searching when Harry kneeled down on the other side of the coffee table and grabbed both his wrists from their task. "You're not just a sacrifice, you know that right?"

Naruto met Harry's eyes with incredulity at the boy bringing up the subject; the two of them had always had this unspoken agreement not to bring up anything regarding the less than happy pasts of their childhoods. Harry reddened, seemingly embarrassed with his uncharacteristic display of sympathy, and continued.

"I-I mean, your life is just as important as anyone else's. I want you to understand—_we_ want you to understand—that you're very important to us," by 'us' Naruto knew he meant not only Inuyasha and the other's back in Salem, but his precious people here as well, "we really care about you, and we _want_ you to live, you know? You're more than just a demon vessel; you're a person who deserves life as much as the next person."

"Harry..." Naruto honestly didn't know what to say. The other boy's words—as ungraceful as they were—carried so much weight with them.

Harry had dropped his hands in his lap and muttered, "It's just...I don't think anyone's ever told you that before. And I just thought that...you know...you needed to hear that."

Naruto was still staring at him when he swallowed and gave a weak but heartfelt smile.

"Thank you."

The sincerity in the simple gratitude counteracted every frantic and vengeful thing the boy had said in the last ten minutes and Harry knew right then that no one _had_ ever told him that—for as long as he had known he was a jinchuuriki—and it was exactly what he needed to hear.

The contented moment was broken as the door to the apartment slammed open without a single knock for warning.

"Naruto!" a pink-haired blur shot into his chest pulling him into a hug, "Oh God, Naruto, I just heard from Shishou—I'm so sorry, I didn't know what to do! I know how much he meant to you—"

She stopped her babbling and embraced both sides of Naruto's head in her hands, holding it where she could look into his eyes, keeping him from trying to hide from her. There was so much disorder, so much pain swirling between the hues of cerulean and azure. He was trying to play it strong, just like every other stupid man she knew in her life, and she wanted to cry for him. Instead she wordlessly pulled his head down to the crook of her neck and cradled it there, running her hands through the long strands trailing down the back of his neck, smiling softly into his ear when she felt his arms wrap around the small of her back and pull her closer. There was nothing sexual about this hug despite the last time they were together, it was purely for comfort.

Harry stood back and let the two have their moment, instead running through a mental checklist of what he had and what he needed.

Sakura was the first to pull away, smoothing back the bangs from his face as she did so. She felt this overwhelming need to protect him—not from physical harm as he could handle that in spades, but from emotional harm. Be it his upbringing or just his nature, Naruto was more vulnerable psychologically; he was the kind of guy who was more likely to die from a broken heart rather than an impaled one.

"I'll help you in anyway I can," she pledged, while not liking the saddened way in which he looked at her. It was a sadness not in response to recent events but one that was trying to tell her something. She took the time to focus in on the rest of the room for the first time since she barged in.

She froze when her eyes locked on the mess of weapons and scrolls sprawled all over the table, her hands dropping from their hold on Naruto's head, her sharp mind immediately drawing the only accurate and obvious conclusion. Both boys saw where she was looking and awaited the anticipated response.

"You know," she said slowly with a strange sort of calm, "as the teammate and girlfriend who just got you back I want to tell you to stay here. But that wouldn't be fair. I think...I think I've been selfish long enough," she laughed uneasily, clearly not wanting to say was she was saying, "The world needs you, and so does Jiraiya."

It took a moment longer for Naruto to comprehend that there would be no violent and noisy protest to his leaving.

"Thank you," He said for the second time in a row, and kissed her forehead gently. He bent down and grabbed the designated scrolls and a couple weapons he had chosen to take with him. Sakura stood back, wringing her hands and knowing without asking that she was not welcome on this journey. She would obey his wishes...for now.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to the others?" She asked as she watched him double check himself for anything he might be missing.

"No time," Naruto replied shortly, glancing out the window at the setting sun. They'd be traveling in the dark but it wasn't a problem for him or Harry.

"What about Sasuke?"

Naruto stilled at Sasuke's name and she knew why. The two had grown up in their separation in their own ways, making it hard to fall back into whatever strange but effective relationship they had before. Despite all of Naruto's efforts to get Sasuke back, his self appointed mission was finished for him in his absence. When Naruto returned it seemed that Sasuke didn't need to be saved, he had friends now and, even with his brother still being alive, he was more mentally stable with the love and support of those he let get close to him. On the converse, Sasuke didn't know what to make of Naruto now that he was fighting bijuu—a whole league away from fighting humans. He also seemed wary of Harry; the Uchiha would look at the wizard with an extraordinary mixture of contempt and envy, perhaps feeling as though he had been replaced as Naruto's best friend while suffering the knowledge he had no right to feel such feelings when he was the one who left in the first place.

"I'll...I'll see him later anyway. Once this is all over, things will go back to normal. You'll see," Naruto said, but it was unconvincing.

"Do you really think you'll live that long?" Harry asked lightly, reminding the two that he was still there, "I mean, you kind of have everyone and their mom trying to kill you right now."

The jibe went unappreciated by Sakura who pursed her lips at the grave allusion but Naruto laughed.

"Good point," he grinned as he walked out the door leading to the tiny balcony looking over the village, followed by Sakura and Harry. Dusk was approaching rapidly and a speckle of stars broke through the dim light directly over head. Without any warning Naruto spun and grabbed Sakura by her hips, roughly jerking her body into him and kissing her thoroughly as he had never done before. Sakura quickly wound her arms around his neck and clung to him for fear of falling over from the dizzying sensation, for fear of having to let go.

They broke apart all too soon for her liking and he rested his forehead on her own, panting and staring into her eyes.

"I love you," he murmured and kissed her again, this time gentler, his hand releasing its bruising grip on her hip and running through her hair languidly. She responded to the words and the kiss accordingly, this time having the wits to reciprocate.

"I love you too," she whispered against his mouth and a heave of emotions within her chest lodged themselves in her throat, preventing her from saying anything further.

"Are you done?"

They both looked to see Harry standing against the rail looking relatively unperturbed with his hands over his ears and his eyes clenched shut. Naruto smiled at this and looked back down at Sakura, taking in every detail of her face as the setting sun cast shadows and colors across its beauty. For a moment Sakura thought he was going to kiss her again from the intensity in his eyes, but just as she started to lean forwards he jumped onto the rail of the balcony, crouching in preparation for take off.

It was Sakura's turn to burn into her memory the picture of Naruto crouching on the thin metal bar, the sharp angles of his face defined by the orange light, the wind manipulating his hair into a wild dance. He looked back at her and his eyes gleamed luminously in the fading light.

Harry jumped to the railing as well and Sakura just barely held back a scream as a soft glow overtook him and instead of a humanoid-Harry, it was a tiny twin-tailed cat-Harry that landed gracefully on the shoulder on the blonde.

"Bye," he whispered, a blast of cold air hitting her body as he shot off, not down onto the roofs, but straight across the sky, faster than she had seen any shinobi move before. She didn't take the time to awe at the amazing feat he developed or allow herself to finally shut down and cry. Instead, she made a vow of two words in a clear, hard voice that was carried into the wind:

"Not yet."

With a steadfast resolve that would make her inner persona proud she set off into the twilight. She had a Hokage's door to kick down.

0o0o0o

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0o0o0o

Naruto found Pein on the high-plains just outside of Amegakure, standing on the flat, dry ground...waiting for him. The aura that he sensed was poisoned with delusions and self-righteousness, it sickened him and yet it was what led him to this very location.

It was a ravine that separated the two men; it drove a deep and wide canyon into the rocks that stretched for miles in either direction. The pair squared off, their shadows casting long strips of darkness that leveled with the half-sun of the horizon. Nothing moved for that moment except for the tiniest of pebbles skidding across the cracked ground from the howls of the wind.

"Where's Jiraiya?" it was growled out in barely a whisper but Naruto knew the silent figure on the other side of the ravine heard it. The cloaked man said nothing more a moment, staring across the distance with his grey, ringed eyes at the lone boy who destroyed his futuristic vision.

"You've become quite problematic for me, Naruto-kun," he spoke in his ghostly-calm voice, acting as though he didn't hear the question. "I'm afraid I had underestimated you. It was my mistake."

The tiny nekomata that had settled himself by his companion's feet bristled at the smug undertone. He could feel Naruto quivering in barely suppressed rage and grief, already knowing the answer to his own question.

"Would you like to know what happened to your master?" Pein asked in a misleadingly lighthearted voice that Naruto found revolting. "I tore out his innards..."

The Jinchuuriki's fingers twitched, the claws lengthening a fraction of a millimeter.

"I crushed his throat under the weight of my foot..."

A snarl left the boys throat as hatred bubbled up from his core.

"And while he lay there in his own blood and entrails, wheezing for breath, I burned him alive."

Naruto snapped, the balls of his feet pressing into the firm ground as he darted forward sharply, intent on tearing the man apart. He was jerked back by a strong grip on his shoulder, shocked strait out of his bloodlust from the forceful stop. He twisted his head to see Harry standing in his humanoid form, demonic green eyes boring into his own.

Pein watched as a small animal suddenly transformed into a man with unveiled curiosity. He recognized the animal as the one the boy fought alongside of, but he didn't know anything of its human transformation. The being radiated power, not one of chakra but of youki and something else completely foreign to him. He frowned, briefly entertaining the idea that the cat-man could prove to be a challenge with the combined efforts of Naruto before brushing the notion off as ludicrous. Both were simply children, playing a man's game.

"Naruto, calm down, you need to think clearly!" Harry hissed through clenched fangs. Naruto stared at him a moment longer, the lack of human illusion had managed to throw him off guard until reality came back to him.

"Would you care to join your master, Jinchuuriki?" Pein's slimy taunt brought a flash of red to Naruto's eyes that made Harry step back in alarm.

Naruto couldn't stand the sound of that man's voice. The smug, slow drawl clawed at his instincts to do unspeakable things to the Akatsuki leader—things that only a demon would relish in. His head was pounding but not with anger. There was something stirring inside of him, something sinister...something familiar.

Harry felt cold, pure dread as the wicked hum of a dark energy swirled around the boy, mingling with Naruto's own aura, and influencing his mind. While in his true demonic form Harry was able to appreciate the sheer level of malevolence in the poisoned youki and cursed loudly at the obvious signs.

The seal was failing.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

**SHE IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!!! **

OMG, those were the most hellish weeks of my entire existence! No lie. Maybe an exaggeration, but no lie.

Why did it take so long? I will tell you why! After holding my laptop hostage for a week (you try going to college with no laptop for a week. Death.) they told me that there was nothing they can save off of it...UNLESS I pay copious amounts of money to have it sent to a cleaning lab, where they would take it apart and save crap off it that way. I chose this option and, in addition to leaving me broke before Christmas shopping season, it took another two weeks. Though I did get my laptop back, it was just empty.

But enough moping, that is past us now. I can now dazzle you with ridiculous crossovers and porn--er...I mean...tasteful romance scenes once more! Hurrah!

Kyuubi is not forgotten! Neither are any of the other things I have hinted to throughout the chapters…I'm just too lazy to think of them right now.

And another thing to freak out about…KUSHINA IS REVEALED!!! OMGLASDKJFLUVAKSELRJ$#!. Phew, had to get that out of my system. She's soo peeerrtty!

Thanks to for editing **strider741** and thank you, my lovelies, for the patience and support. (heart!) --- that is a heart for you!


	25. Acceptance

**Chapter 25**

Namikaze Minato was truly a brilliant man. He was an exceptional seal master who managed to design a seal so powerful and so unique that it could hold the legendary Kyuubi within the navel of his infant son without destroying the child. The chakra of the demon could leak through at a gradual pace, mingling with the child's chakra at a rate that allowed Naruto's chakra canals to adapt to it rather than fight it, until the Kyuubi was no more. The seal was meant to affect the body at the most, not the mind, which made Naruto one of the most successfully produced Jinchuuriki to date. When the Akatsuki attempted to transfer the Kyuubi from one vessel to another two years ago, the basic structure of the seal was damaged beyond repair. The damage, irreversible as it was, was not enough for the Kyuubi to completely break free in that moment, and, while it did its job in keeping the Kyuubi within its prison, it was unable to be transferred as they had expected.

It seemed that the boy's will was no longer enough to uphold the seal. The blood magic, powerful though it was, could no longer keep the flimsy stitches of the seal intact. And with that alarming thought in mind, Harry watched the blur that was Naruto shoot across the high plains in a blind fury, leaping over the ravine as if it were nothing more than a stream, rapidly closing in on the stationary Akatsuki.

"You bastard! I'll fucking kill you!" Naruto roared, his voice deep and grating in his slow descent into distempered savagery. A smirk was barely visible on the lips of his antagonist, further fueling his rage. Naruto reared back his arm, his claws gleaming dangerously in the rapidly fading light. Before he could place his animalistic assault his senses went on high alert, giving him the chance to counter the three attacks coming at him from different angles.

His body reacted far before his mind could fully process the situation: One of his hands gripped the forearm of an attacker with long hair held in a ponytail, stopping the kunai from piercing his throat. His foot was crushing the wrist of one trying to attack him from below, the sword once in its hand now dropped to the ground from the weakened grip of the longhaired man. The heavy-set third was only being held off by his demonically enhanced strength that caught the meaty throat in his livid grip.

A moment into the standstill barely passed before he realized that Harry was back to back with him, holding off two more variations of Pein. Though the body shapes and personal features were different on each being, the carroty hair, numerous piercings and concentric, grey eyes confirmed that they were all part of one man.

"What did I just say about staying calm?" the wizard hissed as he pushed back against the two red-headed men. Naruto didn't reply, hardy paying attention to his own quarry as he kept his glower focused solely on the original. Pein's smirk never left his face as he hopped a good distance back from the entangled group.

"I will not lower myself by engaging the likes of you," Pein said, his voice flat yet still carrying the same infuriating tone of condescendence. The insult cut Naruto deeper than perhaps originally intended just by the implication that he would not get the revenge he craved to be released from. The blonde was hardly aware that he broke the arm of the long-haired 'Pein' as rage pounded through his body like the beat of a heart; the clone didn't react in the slightest.

"No," Pein continued, "Since you seem to be so fond of fighting demons..."

Neither boy could do nothing more than watch as pale hands and purple fingernails blazed through a serious of hand seals—hand seals that seemed quite familiar to the Akatsuki Leader judging by the ease at which the nimble fingers fell into each seal.

"...you should enjoy this."

Pein slammed both of his hands on the ground.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu.__"_

The sound of the enormous form of a multi-eyed stone statue rising fluidly from the ground was nearly deafening to the avengers. The figurine continued to ascend until it towered over the cluster of combative individuals; giant hands were bare-palmed and faced the night sky. Naruto's face was pale as his mind took him back to the last time he encountered that statue. The pain, the fear, the acceptance of death...but he couldn't die this time. He had Sakura waiting for him, he had to avenge his sensei, and he had to destroy the last of the demons once and for all. He had to bring this world peace.

Pein flew into the air with all the grace and agility of a bird and roosted neatly on the tip of the statue's right thumb.

"You can't summon anything out of that without your posse," Naruto grunted with false bravado, adding a little more weight the wrist beneath his foot as it tried to inch towards its fallen sword. The blonde could sense that Pein was alone—the single, tainted aura was oddly spread around them but still one and the same—and used that knowledge to deduct that there would be no demon summoning involved. He had planned on focusing all his strength into giving the Akatsuki leader his just desserts and finding Jiraiya's body—no demon slaying involved. The six separate bodies had come as a bit of a shock to him but he knew there was one mind of Pein and he still felt he had a good fighting chance.

Pein's cool smile being cast upon him from his high perch upset that feeling.

"That is where you are mistaken Jinchuuriki..."

Harry and Naruto were abruptly relieved of their strenuous defense against the clones as the five other Peins flew to their respective fingertips. The beings had slipped from their hold as if they were merely toying with them the whole time.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be shitting me," Harry breathed in disbelief as the only conclusion was drawn to the forefront of his mind. Naruto was incredulously shaking his head besides him, anger practically forgotten as he was about to witness a single man literally screw them over.

"So there really must be six of him..." he whispered, "'cause those sure as hell aren't henged shadow clones."

Pein looked down from the far right, "I guarantee you, Jinchuuriki, this will be your last battle against demons or humans alike. I will make sure of that."

It was with a detached sort of horror that the young half-breeds witnessed the six different variations of one individual run though a final series of hand seals in perfect sync before shouting:

"_SHUTSUGOKU!"_

Three piercing white sclera penetrated the night sky so that even a human would have no trouble seeing the eerie glow that surrounded the tightly constricted pupils. The opening of the eyes was the only warning the two boys received before hell was unleashed upon them.

Naruto felt the explosion of demonic aura long before any entities were drawn out of the statue. The malevolence, the blood-lust, the crazed desire to tear into any sort of flesh as long as it screamed was threaded within the severe backlash of youki; the primal call was almost too much for his Kyuubi-induced state to handle. His stomach gave a funny spasm right over where the seal was. He immediately felt his face heat up as his whisker marks darkened and the lining of his lips and gums turned black. His skin began to itch with the Kyuubi's chakra leaking out of his body at an increased pace. His mind went into a panic as he willed the seal to pull back the evil energy, but the first tail continued to form anyway.

"—uto! Naruto! Stay with me kit!"

Naruto gasped as Harry's voice jerked him out of his inner turmoil. By simply opening his eyes the effect the bijuus' youki was having on him diminished greatly. Harry was beside him, managing to look grim, agitated and concerned all at once, squinting his iridescent eyes against the searing winds. Naruto tried to look around to see what was happening but was nearly blinded by the physical flurry of chakra. All he knew was that Pein was no longer visible and neither was the statue. The only thing he could see was red. They were in a blistering twister of demon chakra and it threw him into another overwhelming flashback; one that involved prayer beads which burned into his wrists, a demon bursting through his stomach and Sakura's tear-streaked, heartbroken face.

His train of thought brought forth another painful tug on the seal and the stub of a tail behind him lengthened.

"Harry!" he choked out over the howling winds, "I can't control it! The seal isn't listening to me.!"

The haze of youki was beginning to clear out; separating and compiling to corporal forms.

"Yes you can!" Harry barked back, his voice deeper and gruffer with his demonic outage, "It's because you're fighting it! _Stop_ fighting it. You _are_ a demon! Accept it, go with it, and you'll find that it will listen to you!"

"But the seal—!" Naruto argued desperately.

"Forget about the seal," Harry cut off. He didn't have to yell as much as the air cleared out and the winds died down.

Their eyes adjusted to the added darkness as everything came back into focus. Pein was outlined against the inert statue, his entire posture oozing with self-satisfaction. The stars were now invisible to them, overruled by the tangle of lighted, swaying tails.

Harry and Naruto stood stock-still side-by-side, staring dumbly ahead as they were faced down with not one, not two, but three monstrous bijuu: the four-tailed rooster, the seven-tailed badger, and the eight-tailed snake.

Harry summed up their entire situation with one appropriate and drawn out groan.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

The pulse of energy released from the statue was due to the sheer intensity of the chakra concentration that was bared to the world in one short moment. It shook the core of the Earth, rousing any nearby villagers from the lull of sleep and sending ominous chills crawling across the environment.

All around the lands—each one formerly enjoying their time off—had the four remaining Akatsuki members frozen in their respective activities. They had all felt the call from the statue, their rings humming against their knuckles, demanding that they answer to their summon: Pein wanted them present in body.

So answer they did.

Amegakure was about to get messy.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o 

"Are you sure you cleared this with Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked once more as he squinted through the twilight in the general direction they were about to set out on. The whole situation seemed so completely ludicrous and surreal to him he didn't even think to fight it. Sakura had practically bowled down his door while howling something about Jiraiya-sama being dead and Naruto rushing off to face the Akatsuki leader and how they had to go help him _now_.

In the dark.

With a ridiculously small unit against the most powerful nuke-nin of their time.

And perhaps some demons as well.

"I think it goes without saying that we will follow him," the third member of their party said flatly, though if the grip on the handle of Kusenagi was anything to go by, Sasuke was in high distress by the situation. He had not properly talked to Naruto since the dobe was released from the hospital after shooting off his own arm. Hell, he hadn't properly talked to him since the valley of the end nearly five years ago. He didn't know how to. How could he apologize for something like that? It was almost painful, how fast he was forgiven. He wouldn't have felt nearly so bad if Naruto was mad at him, held a grudge against him, hated him even. He felt he owed Naruto so much; he was saved from his own inner darkness because of him, he was accepted back into Konoha with minimal punishment for a missing-nin because of him, and, as a consequence, he would have never found Hinata if it wasn't for him. He was happy for the first time since his clan was murdered, and it was thanks to _him_.

So finding out that Naruto was all but throwing himself at the Akatsuki with what could be considered a less-than-stable mind had upset him somewhat.

"Come on, I want to get there before morning," Sakura commanded, flexing her fingers experimentally in her combat gloves. She felt she gave Naruto a decent enough head start with respects to his pride before she set about constructing her own backup unit. It quickly became apparent that there was almost no one she could truly trust with such a task left in the village, but the most important people were there—Kakashi and Sasuke—and they were all she needed.

"Hold on!" Three of the original members of team seven stopped and turned at the mouth of Konoha, surprised to see who was standing naught ten feet away from them, slightly panting and battle ready.

"I'm coming as well," Sai said with an uncommon conviction, pulling the final strap tight that held his drawing scroll to his back. The tone of passion would have never been possible for him if it wasn't for Naruto.

"Sai..." Sakura murmured, touched at the loyalty he showed, "Of course you are."

The artist smiled and stepped in line with the group. Sasuke nodded once at him with his own approval.

"Let's go," the avenger stated when he was sure there would be no more last minute additions. The group of four needed no further encouragement, even if, technically, the Hokage hadn't cleared them.

Amegakure was about to get _very_ messy.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Sudden, violent and blinding flashes of light tore through the inky blue that blanketed the once barren plains; Thundering blasts and ear-shattering roars caused even boulders to quake in their seat. To anyone who may have stumbled upon the high plains of Amegakure that evening it would appear to be the grounds for a one-sided battle...and the little guys were losing.

The studded Akatsuki leader seemed to be enjoying himself immensely as he watched the fight play out from his seat on the stone thumb he had yet to move from. His Rinnegan was successful in keeping the darkness from hindering his perception on the warfare as he had his other bodies spread throughout the battlefield. He took gleeful satisfaction in seeing his demons tear down those brats who had so foolishly thought they could wipe out the bijuu. Every blood-splattering gash from a claw, every earthshaking blow from a tail brought the corners of his lips up a little higher. This was justice in his eyes.

On the other hand, he was impressed by their performance. He would allow himself to admit that the Jinchuuriki and his little friend were far more powerful than he anticipated, though he was comforted by the knowledge that they would soon fall, just as his old sensei had.

The demons were healing faster than the defendants could cause damage and were surprisingly agile for their size. Under normal circumstances the Yonbi wouldn't be a problem for Harry or Naruto, but throw in a couple greater demons and even the slightest attention from the giant rooster demon could be devastating.

Naruto was having a grand old time with his arm caught in the mouth of the badger demon—a consequence of blowing off a good portion of its left shoulder earlier. The Shichibi whipped its head so sharply that the tinier body was sent crashing into the rough ground, shredding the skin of the arm that was previously clamped between its teeth.

"Uuagh," Naruto groaned as his arm was torn from its socket. He reflexively rolled into a crouch, streaking blood along his path in the process, and, upon coming to a stop, snapped the injured arm out sharply so that it wrenched itself back into place The Kyuubi's cloak was already nearly finished in closing the last of the lacerations. He managed all of this a split second before springing high into the air, narrowly avoiding a claw of earth that had risen from the ground behind him to try and smother him in a wave-like fashion. He brought his arms up in a defensive cross as a tail came out of nowhere and smacked him out of the air at a high velocity, back down to the ground. He was ready to recover as quickly as possible and attempt to attack back but found his legs immobile.

The Shichibi—the seven tailed badger demon—was known for its affinity to earth and clay and Naruto thought it was doing a wonderful job at demonstrating it. At the moment he was ankle deep in rock-turned-clay and it was enough to keep him from escaping as the Shichibi lunged directly at him in an animalistic attack, teeth bared and claws several feet long, extended and gleaming in the moonlight. Naruto was already running through hand seals.

"_Doton: Doroku Gaeshi_" he growled in his throaty, kyuubified voice. The rocky ground that was just beyond his 'quick-clay' burst to life, shooting up fast enough to catch the demon off guard. He had put so much power behind the jutsu that the Shichibi struck it head on and bounced back from its own element of choice.

With a mighty roar Naruto sprang free of his mucky prison, not even catching a break as the Yonbi barreled him over from the right. Naruto gritted his teeth and dug the balls of his feet into the ground to stop the momentum of the Yonbi's tackle as he grabbed a hold of the wildly clicking beak. The Yonbi was not pleased that a tiny hanyou could stop it from devouring him, although Naruto wasn't in the best of moods either seeing as the orifice he was holding back inches from his face reeked of death and rot.

He should have been more suspicious when the Yonbi's struggles against his hold lessened. Its mouth was still open as an opaque, green cloud tumbled forth into his face. Naruto sucked in a small breath of shock and was immediately wracked with coughs. Poison.

His first instinct was to let go and escape the toxin, but then the Yonbi jerked forward to bite him and he had no choice but to stay and strengthen his hold on the oversized beak that had to be five times the size of his own body. The poison was filling his lungs—only a fraction as effective as it should have been on him, but enough for him to realize he would never be able to take on the Shichibi he noticed approaching out of his peripheral. Especially with it barreling towards him at an alarming speed, a slight hobble due to its shoulder injury.

He needed Kyuubi to get him out of this one.

Naruto fell into a well-practiced meditative mindset, ignoring the physical strain on his body and using the precious few seconds he had at his disposal to concentrate on summoning his demonic chakra. Despite what Harry said earlier he didn't feel completely at ease using it. The red heat surrounding his body condensed, darkening to a deep ruby as a second tail was fully formed. It felt like putting on an old sweater to his body, giving it a comfortable warmth as the otherwise poisonous chakra coursed through his veins in greater concentration. It was the knowledge of what it would inevitably lead to that made the experience so disconcerting for him.

Being a Jinchuuriki required that he could differentiate between different entities and influences within his own body. Training with Inuyasha in Occlumency and constant meditation over the last two years had left him with an unusually great awareness of his mind, body and soul. As he felt the Kyuubi's essence in him strengthen he noticed that he reflexively closed off a part of his mind that was privy to the demon's call—something he had learned to do when training with Yamato to help escape the influence under dire situations. When he reached enough tails (and in those days it was four) this blockade would break, and the sudden onslaught of demonic instinct, craze, and bloodlust would be too much for his human mind to handle, automatically submitting him to the demon's will.

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction as everything rapidly clicked into place. He hadn't used the Kyuubi's chakra since he first left the shinobi world two years ago—before all the training and developing and the Change. He suddenly understood what Harry had meant earlier: _"_Stop_ fighting it. You _are_ a demon! Accept it, go with it, and you'll find that it will listen to you!"_

He was fighting it by reflex and _that_ was what caused it to fight back. He was trying to use the demonic chakra as a tool separate from his body, not as a part of it. Not as his _own_.

It was with this thought in mind that, without further ado, he opened up that carnal division of his brain, embracing it into his being.

Something within him changed forever.

He snarled as he felt the power flush his body, the Kyuubi's chakra was being added to his own rather than overpowering it. He had unlocked the key to being a true Jinchuuriki: simple, unadulterated acceptance. He knew, at that point, that he would never be human. He was a demon, a hanyou. And by the simple act of accepting that fact—not saying he would accept it to placate Inuyasha or Harry, but truly accepting it for himself—he would never have to fight the Kyuubi for control of his body ever again. This demon chakra was his now; his to mold, his to utilize, and his to wipe the floor with this annoying, moronic chicken that was breathing poison all over him.

Wind chakra automatically utilized in his claws at the smallest thought and with such power that he was almost taken by surprise himself. A feral grin was etched into his features and he moved his claws experimentally. The vicinity was suddenly filled with the outraged and pain-filled squawks of the Yonbi as its entire beak was shattered, leaving a giant, bloody, gaping hole where its mouth was. It reared back, allowing Naruto to bask in the shower of blood that he fashioned. The poison had already cleared from his system and he found his strength return to him two-fold.

An enormous sickle of blood flew overhead and immediately proved itself sharp enough to cleave two of the Shichibi's furred tails clean off, saving Naruto from his grave error of overlooking the demon during his newfound revelation.

"Thanks!" Naruto yelled behind him, not bothering to look at Harry as he took after the Shichibi with renewed vigor.

Harry allowed himself a little grin and forgave Naruto for his slight blunder; he was truly happy that the kit had finally figured out the secret to balancing out a hanyou's essentia. Even Inuyasha was beginning to wonder when Naruto would give up that false hope that he could still be human. Acceptance sounded so easy but it was probably one of the hardest things a person can do when trying to overcome an obstacle from within. The excitement and power rush would die down over time and eventually Naruto would no longer feel so brutish when fighting.

"_Spiculum Talea!"_ His reminiscing almost cost him a tail to the head and he reacted quickly for it. Said tail was now full of bloody, cone-shaped spikes that drove it a safe distance away from the green-eyed half-breed. Naruto may have unlocked some hidden potential, but it still wouldn't be enough for a victory. Already, he and his comrade were fatiguing faster than the demons.

A serpentine tongue flicked out at him as if mocking him for his thoughts and Harry bared his teeth right back at the Hachibi. There was something about snakes that just irked Harry, ever since his years back at Hogwarts. It didn't help that his greatest nemesis of that time happened to adore them. That was one reason why he was focusing on the Hachibi. The other reason was most likely to get the most threatening demon out of Naruto's way; the boy was good but he wasn't _that_ good—the Yonbi and Shichibi were already more than he could chew.

The third and most obvious reason Harry targeted the Hachibi was because it was supposedly notorious for summoning evil spirits. Evil spirits come from Hell. Harry was a guardian of Hell. That was one point to the little guys.

Even so, keeping half an eye on his gate for any emerging entities, a half on Naruto to make sure the younger was surviving this ordeal, and a half on his own situation with the eight-tailed freak left his eye in too many halves.

"_Lammina!"_ Scythe-like projectiles flew from the palms of his hands, taking chunks out of the Hachibi's neck as it tried to dodge. He didn't let up.

"_Catena redimio!"_ Two chains shot out from pools of blood littering the ground and each wrapped around an attacking tail, allowing Harry to dart back a little farther before they were broken by the appendages' unmatched strength.

He hated those tails with a passion, each one rattling with power and knocking away half of his attacks like they were nothing (which was _not_ good for his ego). The thing was damn powerful and he couldn't remember whipping out this many blood-based spells since the gates crashed at the millennium. In between every other Latin chant he would take a swig out of his hipflask filled with blood-replenishing potion–even so, the blood loss was starting to get to him.

"Naruto!" Ruby eyes spared him a glance in the midst of staying afoot a mudslide courtesy of the Shichibi all while manipulating his own chakra tails into striking down a lunge by the Yonbi. It was enough in letting Harry know that he was at least listening. "We can't destroy them!"

Blood magic was only going to help so much; he knew this the moment the tailed beasts were released. There was a reason they were legend above all other demons. He had been trying to force the Hachibi through his gate for the past couple hours, but every time the demon would start to transcend into the other plane of existence it would be fully corporal once more in this one. It was like trying to squeeze an elephant through a doorway—it just wasn't going to happen. It didn't help that he was extremely young for a gatekeeper; he needed support from Naruto.

It had taken a moment for Naruto to register that Harry had spoken in English and despite weaving through a forest of fur-lined tails he understood that it was to keep Pein from understanding.

"So what do you suggest?" he called back in the same language with blood dribbling out of the corners of his mouth—most likely from slow-healing ruptured organs. He summoned several clones, using them to distract his two opponents while holding a couple back to work up a rasenshuriken.

Pein frowned when they began conversing in foreign tongues as it meant they were drawing up some kind of a plan. The frown only deepened when the swirl of a jutsu that literally pulsated with chakra formed in the hand of the Jinchuuriki; he recognized it as the one that nearly finished off Kakuzu. In addition to this odd turn of events, he still couldn't figure out why the Hachibi wasn't casting denizens of Hell upon the cat-man. There was something very strange about the black and silver haired man that he couldn't quite place his finger on. A sliver of doubt began to creep into his mind before it was quickly squashed. Whatever these _children_ were planning, it wasn't going to work; they were already on the brink of giving in, the amount of blood splattered across the battlefield was testament enough to that. The boys had been battling the demons for hours at this point and even they knew themselves that their time left was short.

"We need to send them directly to Hell but—," Harry paused in his yelling to back flip into a blade kick, braking a fang of the chomping snake jaws in half,"—ugh. The bijuu aren't like other demons—they're unnaturally strong and—" a sharp twist to the side managed to avoid being crushed by a thrashing tail, "—I'll need help forcing them in—argh! Fuck it! _**Erumpo**_"

Every filament, puddle and speckle of blood that ornamented the rocky terrain of the wasteland erupted as if every other white blood cell contained a mine. The explosion was deafening, as were the screeches of all three demon as they were blown backwards in a flurry of limbs, gore and even more blood. They hit the ground, large portions of their tails and legs absent; the Hachibi had lost the entirety of the underside of its whitish belly, exposing the gross inner muscles of its body; the Shichibi took the brunt of it to its backside where all but three of its tails were demolished; the Yonbi lost an entire wing in addition to being left with two feathery tails, wilting in pain.

Harry was panting more heavily than he should have, which led Naruto to believe that that was an exhausting spell, though effective nonetheless.

"Don't think I should have done that..." Harry puffed as if to confirm his thoughts, "But at least I bought us some time. Now listen carefully..."

The sounds of the Shichibi and Hachibi beginning to rise once more, albeit slowly, was enough to increase both their heart rates as time became more precious.

"I'm going to fully open my gate, and pull the demons into it starting with the strongest," Harry rushed, still speaking English. He could already feel his reservoirs beginning to replenish themselves, "that way, if we don't manage to get them all, at least we'll be left with the weakest."

Naruto was nodding, keeping a wary eye on the Shichibi's tails which were already beginning to growing back.

"I need you to be on the opposite side from me...so when I say, get about one hundred yards across from where we are—"

"Alright," Naruto whispered with urgency. He didn't feel right being stationary while the Hachibi and Shichibi were both upright and taking note of their position. The Yonbi was finally starting to stir. Harry continued with haste.

"I need you to try and force an opening to Hell, like you did before I first found you—"

"_What?_" Naruto yelped, forgetting the demons and fixing Harry a disbelieving look. Harry had always moaned and groaned about strained openings and how they were _so_ annoying and causing all sorts of problems. There were so many different ways that it was impossible to create any official law against them, so it was unsurprising to him that Naruto had stumbled upon one in the shinobi world. However, he had demanded of Naruto to never use it again, even in the direst of situations because only bad could come of it without proper control.

"Force the opening," Harry stressed loudly over the outraged roar that signaled a quickly recovering demon, "I know I told you to never do it again, but I need you to force it. I'll connect them from there to accommodate the gate, but afterwards I need you to focus on powering the demons into the gate. I know with the two of us, we can do it."

"How?" Naruto couldn't hide the desperation in his voice as the seconds ticked away.

"Use your other element," was all Harry murmured before closing his eyes in the beginnings of a full gate opening. "Now go."

"But—"

"GO!"

Naruto pushed off, kicking up loose rocks and dirt and darted across the nearly destroyed plains, dodging a halfhearted swipe of a badger's claw as the demon seemed to take notice of him passing. He stopped short at the estimated distance and looked back to make sure no demons decided to follow him. It looked to him as though all three demons were struggling to move against some invisible force and he noticed Harry gritting his teeth with the strain

He wasted no more time in running through the long string of forbidden hand seals, amazed that he could still remember them through sheer muscle memory on such short notice. His arms tingled as the black, runic half-circles materialized on his forearms.

Pein shot to his feet as he realized what was happening; it was just like two years ago, this child was going to escape death _again_. He flew from his stand, sending his other bodies into action simultaneously. The speed at which they traveled should have taken them to the boy in a split second, but something had stopped him. There was a force that was not from this world, keeping him from approaching the strange creation that was forming underneath the bodies of his bijuu. The same went for his other bodies as well. There was some barrier—one that was completely foreign to him—holding him back.

Piercing lime eyes met his in a taunting gesture accompanied by a fanged smirk and Pein knew at that moment that there was more to this cat-boy than he could have ever imagined.

Across the plains, Naruto drew his forearms together and completed the circle. It glowed a fierce white light and a loud crack reverberated through the night as the ground before his feet split open just as he knew it was supposed to. But something strange began to happen next; the grounds separating him and Harry appeared to..._swirl_. It was like someone was pulling the plug out of a bathtub. A surreal looking vortex formed starting directly between the two hunters, creating a disfigured illusion of the ground smoothing and melting into a continually growing whirlpool that sunk deep into the earth, disappearing into blackness. It was like looking at the creation of a black hole lying flat on the ground and he was connected to it.

"Naruto!" Naruto snapped to attention at Harry's call. He noticed the demons bodies slipping into the black abyss and Pein standing just outside the gate's edges, looking livid and almost at a loss.

"Naruto!" Harry cried again in exasperation that mingled nicely with his growing fatigue. The Hachibi was already slithering out of it somehow. Probably through sheer power.

"Right! Sorry!" He easily slipped into the unity-conscious state of meditation, his arms still drawn by the glowing circle that held the strained opening. He immediately became more in tune with his surroundings; the intense evil of the bijuus' youki that pulsated as it fought the gate's pull, the tainted and deluded soul of Pein not too far off from him, and Harry's own warm, potent aura. Somewhere, in the corners of his mind, he could feel the tingling of that overpowering, unique energy. The one that was so comforting it was scary, so powerful it was protective. It was around him, he could feel it, and he just had to draw it out.

"NARUTO!"

"I'm trying!" he cried back, desperately clawing for that power's attention. Why couldn't he call it forth now of all times, when he needed it the most?

The Yonbi had nearly pulled itself free and Pein immediately relaxed as he saw their pathetic little plan spiraling downhill. His demons were escaping the pull the Hell and whatever those children were doing was draining them quickly. As soon as the demons were fully free, neither would be likely to be able to stand.

Naruto couldn't understand the life of him why it wasn't working. His unity-conscious state alerted him of Harry's growing desperation, Pein's increasing contentment, and the Shichibi breaking free. He could use it when training in Inuyasha's world, even if he wasn't in control. _So why wasn't it grabbing a hold of him now?_

"NARUTO!"

It was there but it was slipping through his fingers...he couldn't get a hold...he would do anything for its aid right now...

Harry was losing his grip; his control over his own gate seemed to weaken when he wasn't in his native land. He was nearly drained dry of all youki and Naruto could sense this. He could sense his own swiftly emptying reserves.

...anything...

The Hachibi was free.

'_...help...please...'_

And suddenly, he wasn't in control anymore.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Wow... I am an _ass._

I am so, so sorry for such a long wait. Between holidays, being kidnapped off (to Maine and Canada...which is ok by my books), and the family business, it's been a hassle to try and get back into the story. That and the chi in this house is totally not working for me. I was stuck with writers block for close to two weeks! and I didn't want to throw something half-assed at you guys… But once spring semester starts again I'll fall back into my routine and the updates will be more regular (that, unfortunately isn't until the end of the month, so we'll see)

I know this hasn't been the clearest of chapters, and the ending was probably confusing as hell, but that's ok...it was supposed to be! The next chapter should kick off with a bang. This is pretty much the climax of this story, where all of what Naruto has learned from Inuyasha and co. will come into play. Ahhrrgh! I hate writing action!

Thanks to **strider714** for beating me upside the head until I spouted off chapter pages!

And thanks for your patience with me, remember...for Narnia!


	26. The Ultimate Medium

**Warning: slight manga spoilers ahead**

**Chapter 26**

There was a time when Harry Potter had to fight an onslaught of third and second class demons for three days straight. The seventh gate of Hell had crashed and, after days of fighting, he had to erect a barrier to temporarily block the entire gateway until he had the strength to completely recompose it. It was probably the most difficult on-the-spot situation he ever found himself in and that was what made it so memorable. He could honestly say it was the only time when he truly thought he would be killed. Up until this day he was confident the he would never have to feel that kind of exhaustion again.

Damn, was he ever so wrong.

Third class demons were a cinch for him at this point of his career, and second class were hardly worth breaking a sweat over. The first class demons took a little more effort and brought a little more pain, but the few he had encountered were all eventually brought down.

But these bijuu...

They had more raw power at their disposal than any first class demon he had ever encountered. Thankfully, they had not the intellect of a first class, and much of their power was wasted in large attacks with little strategy. He figured that this was the original purpose for the creation of the Jinchuuriki; to combine the power of a demon with the intelligence of a human—in other words, a man-made hanyou.

As much as people would like to believe otherwise, the truth of the matter was that with enough power even intelligence and skill could be rendered useless. This amass of power he was trying to force into another dimension (not just in one bijuu but in three combined) had effectively constipated the only gate he had control of.

Being the guardian of to gate of Hell did not grant the guardian any additional powers for personal benefit. Meaning, he was no more powerful the day he became a guardian than he was the day before, he just had more influence. He doubted even Inuyasha could force the tailed demons through his gate. Sadly, the time to summon Inuyasha had long past—in the rush of battle they hadn't had the time to perform a summon, nor were they thinking of it. Summoning happened to take a lot out of someone who happened to need all the power they could exercise, especially the type they invented. He needed all the energy he could get at the moment.

The battle with the bijuu had been fast-paced; both he and Naruto were constantly avoiding sound waves, energy blasts, and chakra eruptions that would have killed them with a single hit—responding with their most powerful techniques time and time again only to cause minimal damage. Never had the wizard felt so frustrated. The constant use of his gate against evil spirits, coupled with fighting an eight-tailed bijuu, as well as holding the Yonbi off of Naruto with every second he had to spare had basically drained him to the brink of collapse.

Which lead to this moment: him straining with every last ounce of his remaining power to clutch onto the essence of the Hachibi. He had the weakest grip on the Yonbi and it had been the first to escape, followed shortly by the Shichibi who had managed to wriggle out by a hair. He needed Naruto to use that weird power of his—the one that still had Inuyasha stumped even if the hanyou had already figured out the _reason_ Naruto had it. Harry himself could recognize the insane white-blue energy that Naruto had lost himself to twice, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Something within him screamed that it was obvious, but so much so that he had completely overlooked it. Harry shook his head, the confusion of it all was not helping him in the least with his current task.

"NARUTO!" He screamed hoarsely while hardly having the energy to do so. The boy standing in a trance-like state didn't appear to have any reaction to his voice; red eyes were clenched shut, three tails of chakra swishing behind him lazily, and it was obvious there was an internal battle raging in his mind. Well Harry didn't have time for Naruto to be struggling internally when they were obviously loosing the external battle.

A gasp of pain broke through cracked lips as black spots of decay appeared on his outstretched arms. His youki had begun to eat away at his own flesh in protest to the extended strain he was forcing on his very essence just to keep the gate in action. He irrationally cursed Naruto for taking so long, the chances of them surviving slipping further and further from his mind. As the Hachibi pulled itself out of the gate he felt as though it was pulling his strength along; his legs were jellied, threatening to give out any second now, and his arms were shaking from the tension and pain.

'_This is it,'_ he thought as he watched the last bijuu escape his hold, _'this is how it really ends...'_

He could feel his grip on the gate slipping and he closed his eyes knowing that he probably wouldn't have been able to hold it a moment longer anyway, and knowing that Pein was going to finish off both him and Naruto the second he released it.

But...he wasn't able to let go of the gate.

He almost wanted to, to end the pain he had been dragged through in the last few hours, but it was as though a comforting, stronger grip was placed around his wrist, willing him to hold on a little longer. Through his fatigue and resignation, Harry was suddenly that much more aware of everything around him—aware that the chilling air spilling forth from the whirlpool to Hell seemed to be cloaked by something warmer, aware that the ground beneath his feet was shifting with activity but remained visibly motionless, aware that something aside from himself was holding Pein back from interfering. But more than anything, he was aware that a power greater than he could ever imagine had saturated the environment in a second, turning the tides for the better.

A demonic and glittering lime was revealed to the world as Harry's eyes shot open. He couldn't help the painfully sharp breath he took at what he saw.

Everything around him crackled with energy, at such a level that he thought for a moment he had already died. The inky abyss of his gate swirled with a white light that seemed to be sharing the burden of holding it open (for which he was eternally grateful). Activity was everywhere around him, overwhelmingly so. He almost felt suffocated but just couldn't draw up the appropriate fear of Naruto loosing complete control. Something basal brought him comfort.

Barbs-like structures of an incandescent white-blue branched around them, shooting up past the clouds, stretching across the plains, and lighting up the entirety of the battlefield. His pupils constricted sharply against the harsh, sudden lighting as his eyes trailed its focal point leading directly beneath Naruto's feet, swirling around the unmoving boy peacefully. He had been reverted from his Kyuubi enhanced form, the demon fox's cloak dispelled by a greater force.

"N-Naruto..." he whispered, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline when the boy responded to the near inaudible whisper by opening his eyes—eyes that were staring blankly ahead and glowing as if they were composed of pure chakra.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

It wasn't hard for the Konohan team to track down the exact location of the melee. In fact, it would have taken much more effort to miss it. The sonic booms and earsplitting roars continually got louder as they progressed. Even at ten miles away there were still times when the group was forced to dodge a rogue attack that had strayed from the battlefield. _Ten miles._ And even at that distance the damage was substantial. Sakura used the theory "if they were still attacking they were still alive" to keep the rising apprehension within her chest at bay.

The group of four had been traveling quickly and silently westward through the forests of fire country for several hours. They didn't have the speed or unobstructed passage that Naruto had when traveling by air, so it wasn't until the wee hours of the morning did they near the boards of Amegakure. The forests had been thinning for some time and it wouldn't be long before the dusky high plains were visible.

Sakura nearly slipped off a bark-less branch as an inhuman chill gripped her liver and any other organ adjacent to it. It came from the direction they were heading and struck face on with a blast that froze the marrow within her bones. It wasn't a harmless, cold breeze by any means but rather an eerie intuition that flooded her soul.

"W-what is that?" she stuttered as she composed herself in her jumping. Still, it felt like her ribs were rattling against each other even as she adjusted.

"The sudden coldness?" Sasuke questioned, ignoring the goose bumps that prickled along his arms, "I feel it too. There's something weird about it..."

"This isn't natural," Kakashi muttered in agreement as he squinted against the darkness. He had been relying heavily on his nose and ears to guide him through the darkness, as had the others, he was sure; it was just another factor that had slowed them down. "And I don't doubt that it came from our destination."

"No matter," Sakura huffed, "We need to get there as soon as possible! There's no telling what's happened to them by now. The Akatsuki could have outnumbered them and they still have three demons at their disposal—!"

"—Sakura calm down, we'll get there," Kakashi tried to nip her third tangent since they left Konoha in the bud. The girl was really an emotional wreck when it came down to it.

"How can I calm down," She snapped halfway through a flip between branches, "What are the chances of Naruto still being alive by the time we get—_Oh my God...!"_

It came so suddenly that the group had nearly faltered to a stop. A whitish blue light—so white it nearly shined gold—had flooded the sky, forming long spindles that coiled upward from a hidden means.

"What...what is that...?" Sasuke hushed roughly, unable to believe his own eyes. He activated his sharingan for a brief moment before sharply pulling the chakra from his eyes with an suffering yelp.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly but not slowing down in pace. Sai cocked his head curiously, glancing between the wincing Uchiha and the divine light ahead.

"It's chakra!" Sasuke gasped, "It's pure chakra! All of it! I've never seen so much!"

"That's can't all be chakra," Kakashi protested, "Not even a bijuu would have that much, and no human body could ever possess it."

He could have checked for himself of course, but seeing as his former student was still rubbing his eyes he chose to take the raven's word for it. Their speed increased dramatically by the added light, the warmth of that power giving them a shock of energy.

"I believe it is a good thing," Sai said quietly, "The light, I mean."

No one replied as they broke through the tree line and crossed the border into Amegakure, but their silence spoke of agreement.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Naruto felt heat.

He didn't understand where it came from at first since the last he remembered was feeling cold and hopeless. And then he remembered surrendering his mind to nature; not just to his wind element but to whatever controlled the elements themselves. Now he was standing and floating all at once. A powerful chakra had completely blanketed him, speaking through some unearthly manner into his mind, letting him know that everything would be taken care of, to let it use his body and defeat the demons.

"N-Naruto..." The whisper carried across the deafening commotion of the gate and demons as though Harry was standing right next to him. Naruto could feel Harry's awe and relief, Pein's shock and the demons' chaotic panic. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but the pulsing glow of life. Aura's covered everything: the rocks on which they stood, the lizards hidden within the cracks of the plain, the eight life-forces heading towards them from different directions.

He was strangely calm for someone who was—for lack of better term—being taken advantage of. Instructions were being filed into his brain and his muscles moved accordingly, unthinkingly. The power coursing through his veins caused his arms to rise in front of him and somehow he knew what he was supposed to do.

The chakra discharged from the vortex swirling around Naruto and shot straight at the demons, grabbing a hold of them and completely overpowering the once fearsome beasts. Harry felt his heart leap as the magnificent power wrapped around the Hachibi like an octopus capturing its prey, pulling it down into the depths of Hell. The snake screamed and writhed as its body disappeared bit by bit from the world of shinobi.

"DAMN!" Pein swore, slamming a fist against the barrier from Hell, unable to do anything as his demons were successfully being drawn out of his reach. Harry spared the redhead a glance—it was hard enough holding up the barrier along with the gate after all the blood he lost—and his eyes widened at the movement behind him.

"Pein-sama!"

Konan, Kisame, Zetsu, and Itachi—four hardened criminals stood behind him, mouths agape in stupefaction as they surveyed the mingling of Hell and pure light.

"What the hell is this?" Kisame growled, barely making out the head of the Hachibi disappearing into the otherworldly whirlpool through the haze of chakra.

"Never mind that," Pein hissed. He showed no appreciation at having his subordinates appear, "Attack the barrier with me. It has a direct correlation to Hell—the boy controlling it has some sort of connection. If we hurry we can spare the Shichibi and Yonbi."

"Hai!"

As one, the four Akatsuki began to attack as directed and Pein had every one of his bodies focus on a certain element to beat against the invisible force field. Harry cried out, the feeling of his barrier being torn away was left on his skin—skin that was pale and in dire need of some blood-replenishing potion. The barrier was crumbling far too quickly with the added firepower and Harry could only focus on holding open the gate as the Shichibi was pulled in.

"SHANARRO!"

The Akatsuki scattered, abandoning their attacks as the ground beneath their feet gave way. Sakura pulled her fist from the ground, breathing heavily after traveling nonstop for hours and then expending heavy chakra. Her team knew better than to give in to the desire to stare dumbfounded at the glowing entity that was Naruto or the giant vortex leading to Hell or the sheer size of the demons. They came here to back up their comrade and that was exactly what they were going to do.

"I thought it odd that only one little leaf ninja came to avenge the great Toad Sannin," Pein sneered. He received no verbal response, only scowls and glares.

"Sai, you handle the plant," Kakashi issued out under his breath, his hitai-ate lifted away from his own sharingan in preparation for the battle, "And Sakura, you take the woman. Sasuke—"

"—don't even," the avenger hissed, not wasting a second more in dashing towards his smirking brother.

"—right," Kakashi deadpanned, "and that leaves me with you."

Kisame gave a sharp-toothed grin that only a shark could manage and charged, swinging Samehada over head. Sakura and Sai scattered, each leaping to their appointed adversary and engaging them in battle.

The lessening of the forces working against him had helped Harry greatly, but the damage done was enough to break the foundations of the barrier. The expenditure of blood and power had nearly killed him and it wouldn't take much for Pein to knock the barrier from his hold.

"Don't think this is over cat-man," Pein grinned as he continued to attack the already weakened barrier. It seemed his efforts were finally paying off; the barrier, though invisible to the eye, could be felt as it continually dissipated. Once it was down he could attack the boy, closing the gate to Hell and gaining control of the battle once more.

"Cat-man..." Harry muttered incredulously to himself. Despite the seriousness of the situation he couldn't stop the batman theme song from running through his head. Sadly, the tune did nothing to block out the increasing waves of pain as he pushed his body too far. He had never held a gate open for this long, especially not after a battle like the one he just experienced. He locked his eyes on Naruto's figure for inspiration. Indeed, the boy was truly a sight: the earthly chakra had given his whole being an ethereal glow and his body moved in a near dance-like motion, controlling the light with such uncharacteristic grace and confidence it was as if he was born to do it.

Harry coughed up some blood as a hoarse laugh broke free from his throat. He understood; it made sense. Everything made sense. Not only the reason for why Naruto had his second element but why he was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, _why he was sent to them_. Naruto wasn't controlling the power. That power was controlling him. Because Naruto was the ultimate medium.

He totally just had an Inuyasha moment and he hadn't the strength to say it out loud.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

A black-clothed fist blew through the pale face of the blue-haired woman. Instead of caving to blood and brains, the entire body yielded into dozens of paper birds, which in turn attacked Sakura. The medic-nin was an expert at dodging and it was her long, lithe form and nimble movements that allowed her to avoid every exploding bit of parchment. Sakura finished with a back handspring as the last bird struck the ground where she was a moment before and ended its existence with a small bang.

"You're fast," Konan noted absently, twirling away from a storm of kunai and spreading out into two separate groups of paper butterflies.

"You're annoying," Sakura grumbled to the ever evasive Akatsuki. Why couldn't she have gotten someone she could actually hit?

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

It wasn't long before Sai found himself deep in a game or cat and mouse. The two-faced flytrap appeared to have the ability to travel through an object after merging with it and, thankfully, the terrain didn't leave many places for Zetsu to hide. However, it did keep Sai's paintbrush in constant motion, throwing out ornate beasts, ravens and rats to seek out the plant-like man before he was found first.

The white half of Zetsu's face smirked as it peeked out of the surface of an upturned chunk of rock, his greedy, yellow eye fixed on the broad back of the artist. It took only a second for a vine-like whip adorned with thorns to lash out from his haven and wrap tightly around the boy's neck.

Sai's eyes bulged and he gagged as the collar of spikes jerked his body backwards by the neck and into the awaiting, toothed pod. Zetsu's giant, external jaws clamped down on him, crushing half of Sai's body with a single, heartfelt chomp. Instead of the salty, bitter taste of blood Zetsu got a mouthful of ink as the body proved to be a bunshin.

With senses on high alert, the hybrid Akatsuki managed to dive back into the rock face in time to escape a swirly, inked lion.

The hunt was still on.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

For Sasuke it was a constant ploy of genjutsu under genjutsu. Every time he would use a chidori-powered Kusenagi to decapitate his brother, the satisfying image would waver, in turn leading to Sasuke being impaled by several kunai just to melt into another illusion. Through it all, Itachi would constantly mock him, voicing his impressions on Sasuke's decisions.

"You've lost your hate," he jeered in his nauseatingly calm voice, "you've grown weaker, brother."

"Hate doesn't bring power," Sasuke declared back bravely, "If anything it makes you weak. I will not fall to the same curse that the Uchiha's have faced before me. Power will no longer be my sole ambition. Not for myself anyway."

"Oh?" Itachi circled him, feigning interest. His younger brother kept a cold, straight gaze on him.

"I know about our clan," Sasuke continued, "the history of killing our closest friends for power, of stealing our sibling's eyes to escape the price for that power. That is a weakness that I will not fall victim to—unlike you!"

"I see you're spewing the same nonsense that Jinchuuriki was trying to trick you into believing. And look where it got you...your death by my hand. Now give me your eyes!"

Itachi's composure was gone and a maniacal grin washed over his face, enhanced by the sharp lighting of Naruto's power. The brothers charged at each other one more.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

**SLAM**

Harry groaned and clenched his eyes shut. He wouldn't mind seeing the Shichibi's head disappear into his gate, in fact, he would probably enjoy seeing that, but he'd rather not look at the giant, nine-headed dog repeatedly slamming itself into his extremely weak barrier.

**SLAM**

Or the giant ram.

**SLAM**

Or the giant _freaking _panda.

**SLAM**

"Fuck!" The entirety of his left arm was covered in blood as the Hell-barrier was connected directly to his body—being the key to the gate. And at this point in time, he really needed all the blood he could get. "Naruto please hurry."

Naruto seemed to understand him from his distance and his body began to command the capture of the Yonbi, who had escaped the furthest from the gate. Harry felt a huge weight lifted as the white chakra took the rooster demon from his task of holding it still. His legs wobbled and he became that much more aware of his exhaustion.

**SLAM**

He was then on his knees with the skin peeling from his shoulder.

**SLAM**

The Yonbi was brought to the lips of the gate but the gate was rapidly closing in his fatigue. One more hit from one of those summons and that would be it for him

**SLAM SLAM SLAM**

Three simultaneous attacks had Harry falling forward, the barrier flailing before disappearing all together. The gate sucked itself close a moment later, taking out all the Yonbi's tails but leaving its body free to roam the world of men. Pein let out a gleeful cackle and took one step towards his prize before he was blown backwards.

It was a convulsion of the power flooding Naruto, expulsing from his body and having no use for it anymore, which crushed the Rinnegan-wielder's crusade. The backlash was one of pure radiance and life, its power equivalent to an atomic bomb, that seemed directed at the laughing man. Pein was thrown quite a distance backwards, his summons being immediately dispelled and many of his bodies damaged beyond worth.

The entire battlefield, once illuminated by the mysterious power, was again dark in its absence, reminding the battalions that the sun had yet to rise. Naruto felt coldness sweep his body as he slumped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. He felt detached and weak after having such a rush of power running rampant through his system but he forced himself up with violently shaking arms. His body was wracked with shivers; his legs trembled as he gingerly rose and his head spun even with the slow elevation.

"H-Harry..." his throat was parched and coarse. He took a couple stumbling steps forwards to his friend who had yet to rise from his fallen position. He called again in a clearer voice, "Harry!"

Harry heard his name faintly and groaned, trying to pull his conscience back to him. He lifted his head a couple inches from the ground to see Naruto slowly making his way to him across the plain. The boy no longer looked the part of an earthly medium; his hair was matted to his face with blood and grunge and his tanned skin had disappeared beneath a coat of battle filth.

"Naruto," he wheezed, grinning despite his own pain. He began his own climb to his feet, wanting to laugh the whole while at how stupid the both of them were, trying to walk around with such extensive injuries. He planted his hands on his knees to catch his breath once he was up right, swallowing tightly against the dryness of his throat. He peered up through long, dirty bangs at Naruto's hobbling form and felt his heart stop in his chest.

Even from the stretch between them Naruto could see the smile slip off of Harry's face as the man focused on something over his shoulder. Adrenaline had already begun to build up again and his heart pounded with the shock from the new change in demeanor. He quickly looked behind him to see what could have upset Harry so suddenly.

The Yonbi had gained its footing from the backlash and was charging in a mad rage at the blond. Though it was now nothing more than a giant rooster with poisonous breath, its chakra tails eliminated, it was still enough to take out Naruto or Harry in their current state. Harry was too far away to help; he hadn't the strength at the moment and Hiraikotsu had been broken during the fight. There was really nothing he could do...he was far too tired to think...

"Naruto!"

Naruto felt something whizzing towards him through the air, something that Harry had thrown. He unthinkingly grabbed the handle as it passed him, performing a half turn on the ball of his foot, not even registering the blade glowing, enhancing in size as it was sliced horizontally across the air before him.

His reaction was delayed to the four jets of thick, yellow power that flew across the damaged floor of the plains. The Yonbi disappeared in their path, glowing momentarily before it was completely obliterated by the sword's attack. Naruto's breath was caught in his throat as he stared between where the Yonbi was last scene and the fang-turned-sword in his grip.

"Th-this is..."

"Tetsuiga." A heavy hand fell onto his shoulder, causing him to jump with a shout and turn on a wildly grinning Potter. "I knew it would be a good idea to bring that, seeing as you're eligible to invoke the wind scar."

"Does Inuyasha know about this?"

"..."

"And you yelled at me about the gun thing..."

"That's completely diff—! Wait a minute...we're still alive..."

Naruto blinked up at him, Tetsuiga held limply in his hand as he glanced around him. The shinobi were still engaged in battle but...there were no demons...

"Holy shit," he swore, "Harry! We're alive!"

"I know you bloody arse, I just said that," Harry laughed. It started out as a chuckled but grew and before they knew it the pair was laughing like crazy, bloodied and in the middle of a warzone.

"Fuck," the younger gasped between laughs, "Fuck...we were so...screwed!"

Harry tried to nod in his mirth. "I can't...believe...we're still...alive!"

The two had sunk to the ground with heaving chests, their laughs eventually subsiding into coughs and hiccups. Naruto rubbed some blood out of his eye before he began to properly examine the sword in his hand. The fang, still transformed, hummed with life beneath his fingers as he gingery traced the ivory.

"Jesus, Harry, how did you get this thing back together? What, did you cut it out of the book's cover?"

Instead of answering Harry looked at him seriously, "Naruto, there's something you should know about what was controlling you."

Naruto spared him a suspicious glance, "How'd you know it was controlling me?"

"Oh, you're going to love this," Harry was grinning madly again, "and I can't believe I figured it out before Inuyasha! Or, at least I think I did..."

"Well, what is it?" Naruto asked. He began to pick at the fur lining the handle of his mentor's old sword, smiling softly at Harry's enthusiasm.

"Naruto, you're actually—"

Naruto never heard the truth of what happened several minutes ago. All he knew was that the left half of his face suddenly felt wet. Warm and wet and a second later it registered that it was liquid, running its course down his whiskered cheek. The smile hardly had the time to leave his lips as he turned in time to see Harry slide down a large post of overturned stone.

"HARRY!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Bueno! I am back in school. Which means more regular updates. And more toast!

Oh noes! Poor Harry! I know the nonsense Harry was spouting about Naruto may seem confusing, but more will be revealed next chapter. It will all come together I swear! I am not on as many drugs as you may think I am. Girl Scout's honor. (you don't need to be an actual Girl Scout to have that, right?).

And Naruto's thingy sort of came off has a blood-line limit, didn't it (what with the glowing eyes that saw nothing but auras); I assure you it's not, that was totally unintentional. No blood line limit for Naruto, he is far too cool for one.

I am also not going to go through every fight scene I somehow managed to set up. Honestly, I hate writing them...so why do I do this to myself??? And I am trying to put this slightly in sync with the cannon; it just helps make the characters more believable and in character...or as believable and in character as crossovers can get.

Muchos Gracias senor **strider741** for the commonsensical addendums.

Now tell me how much you love me! That or if you agree that the human race really doesn't need chemistry. Not really.


	27. Destined to Choose

**Chapter 27**

"What year was the Werewolf Code of Conduct ratified?"

Bridget absently scratched the side of her nose with the feathered end of her quill.

"Somewhere in the 1630s I think," she yawned, ready to take a break after the last three hours of nonstop studying.

"Hold your horses, Nagasaki, we're almost done. We can put off studying for Astronomy and Herbology tomorrow," her friend Karen grinned. The tall redhead had a lazy streak of her own, which never failed to rile up the third member of their party, Shelby.

"You two should be taking this more seriously," Shelby scolded, shuffling around piles of highly organized notes, "NEWTS are a couple of months away and if you fail you'll never get a decent job—"

"We're not going to fail anything, Shell," Bridget muttered, "Geeze..."

She reached across her scroll to dip her quill into her ink bottle. The second her hand neared the small vial the glass cracked cleanly in two, sending waves of ink all across their notes.

"Oh no!" Shelby cried, quickly shoving her books out of the spill's path. The girls were quick to clean up the black mess with simple, silent spells.

"Well that was weird...isn't that supposed to be a bad omen?" Karen teased, waving her wand and clearing off the bit that spread onto her own notes. "Or maybe someone cursed your quill? I bet it was that bitch Lindsey!"

"Hmm, or maybe it means that you'll fail your NEWTS!" Shelby added with good humor, pulling her blonde hair up and out of her eyes with an elastic. "Anyway, you can just borrow my ink for now, but if I were you I would start putting unbreakable charms and other reinforcements on your stuff because..."

Bridget drowned out her friend's ramblings, frowning softly as her unfocused gaze turned on the jagged ruins of her ink bottle. She was unable to shake the inkling that whatever kind of omen it was, it had nothing to do with her schoolwork

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

"HARRY!"

Naruto scrambled back to his feet, all pain and exhaustion forgotten as he rushed over to his fallen comrade and skidded to his knees by his side.

"Harry!" he said again, quieter, trying to lift his friend's face up with slippery, bloodied hands to get a good look at him. Harry's eyes were clenched shut and a generous load of blood spilled from his mouth as he tried to speak.

"Na—I-I—"

"Shh. Shut up," Naruto commanded, pushing down on the deep, wet gash across Harry's chest, trying to stop the immeasurable amount of blood that was seeping out. The pallor of Harry's skin was frightening. He had half a mind to call out to Sakura, but it was dark now without his special light show and she probably was engaged in combat with the Akatsuki, unknowing to what was happening elsewhere.

"Sss-ssorry..."

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?!" Naruto yelled at the mumblings in a tone much harsher than he meant to. A new kind of panic had taken a hold of his mind, "You just rest here and heal up. You leave the rest to me, ok? You'll be fine in no time, you'll see."

But he knew, the both of them knew, that Harry wouldn't make it without outside help. Harry's face was so pale that it was nearly transparent.

So transparent that it was disappearing.

"Harry...?" Naruto's voice was meek and childlike as the slumped figure began to waver out of view. "Harry, wait! Don't go!"

Harry didn't reply, in fact, he remained deathly still as his body disappeared from that world. The blonde could only look on horrified and he suddenly remembered that Harry was a summon to this world. His stay here had expired without the strength to remain and he was returning to Inuyasha's world.

The elder hunter had reached a half-way transparency condition—a warning phase integrated into their summoning pack that would served as a forewarning of unsummon. Soon, the ghostly vision of Harry poofed into nothingness, leaving only a small dark cloud and signaling his departure of that world for good. Naruto could only pray that Kagome or Inuyasha would find him before it was too late.

"Interesting sword you have here Uzumaki..."

Naruto's eyes flashed red, his hatred for Pein increasing ten-fold for what had happened to Jiraiya _and_ Harry, but he held back from using any of the Kyuubi's chakra for the moment. The anger within him had turned cold and calm, not the kind to rush into battle headfirst as he was so apt to doing, but the kind that liked to play with its prey before striking. It was no longer about revenge; it was his duty to this world to rid it of Pein just as he had the demons, and it didn't matter how it was done.

He stood slowly, his body kicking up again with its healing as he drew forth energy from sheer determination, and turned to face his antagonist. Pein stood several feet before him, the un-transformed Tetsuiga held loosely in his grip as he examined it with mild interest. The Akatsuki leader looked a little worse for wear; his uniform cloak was destroyed completely, abandoned, and his body was left torn and bloodied from the blast, but he continued to stand without showing the slightest languor.

"One swing and you finished off a bijuu...remarkable." Pein turned his attention back to the annoying blonde, "I see you've survived this entire ordeal so far and I will give credit where it's due. It was my own mistake for underestimating you. I should have granted you the same amount of effort on my part that I had for our late sensei. No matter, I can see it won't take much to finish this off, and then I can move on to all your friends who were foolish enough to follow you."

Naruto tried not to show any reaction to the jibe concerning Jiraiya and replied with a similar, detached voice.

"You don't look so good yourself, Pein—a little lonely standing there by yourself. What's wrong? Run out of bodies?"

Ringed, grey eyes narrowed and Naruto had to wonder if that blast had indeed taken out his bodies. There had certainly been enough power behind it.

"Look at yourself, Uzumaki," Pein sneered, "Look around you. You've already lost. I can easily kill you and your friends will be dead soon as well. You put up a good fight, but it was clear since the beginning who was meant to be the victor. Did you actually think that mortals could defeat me?"

Something snapped within him, something born from a budding demonic pride that left him spitting at the other man.

"Who the fuck are you calling a mortal you delusional _human_?" Naruto snarled, "I'm a goddamn hanyou. Remember it."

"_I am a god!_" Pein hissed back, clearly likewise incensed.

"A _god_," Naruto spat out the word, "would have been able to transform that sword. Even a demon would be able to do so, _if_ it could get past the barrier placed on it. But a _human_ would _never_ be able to use it and _that_ is a testament to your own sad excuse for humanity."

Pein felt livid, though he tried to keep up his calm façade. The boy before him had to be one of the most, if not _the_ most, annoying fools he had ever had the misfortune of encountering. He had made a point to kill anyone foolish enough to annoy him and he wasn't about to make any exceptions for this brat.

"I have proven myself a god time and time again, I have defeated every opponent I have encountered and it is my destiny to bring this world under my reign. A sword will not define who I am!"

"No, but I will."

It took only a moment longer for Naruto to realize that it wasn't Pein who was speaking; it couldn't have been. The grey rings around the Akatsuki leader's pupils merged and darkened until it was simply a pair of dull brown eyes staring back at him, lifeless. And if the bloodied hand sticking out of his chest was any indication, Pein was dead.

"I see you've become quite powerful…Naruto-kun"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

"_Doton: saiseki shuriken!_"

Kakashi was thankful that his Sharingan granted him the ability to have copied so many earth-based jutsu during the war with Iwa. The chakra reserves of Kisame seemed to rival those of Naruto's and it was only through playing down the rogue-nin's water jutsu that he had made it this far.

"_Suiton: Suijinheki!"_

A wall of water erupted from the ground around Kisame's feet like a geyser, blocking the flying shards of rocks that his opponent's jutsu sent hurling towards him at deadly speeds. The wall wasn't enough to stop the entire barrage and he was forced to use Samehada to block the rest of the attack.

"Not bad copy-nin," the sharkly man rumbled with a leer, lowering is sword, "But this has been going on long enough. Let's up the ante, eh? _Suiton: Bakusui Shouha!"_

"_Doton: Doryuuheki!"_

Kakashi opened his mouth and a wave of mud shot out, forming a barrier strong enough to protect him from the monstrous wave of water he knew was coming; he had heard about this jutsu from Gai, whose team had been unfortunate enough to encounter it before. Sure enough, a wave rose from the earth's crust and crashed with a tremendous roar, instantly flooding the war grounds with enough water to fill a lake. Kakashi's protection couldn't have come a second later; thousands of gallons of water slammed against the mud wall, hardly giving him the time needed to jump out of the way and gain footing on the tremulous surface of the newly formed basin.

The upsurge's path next headed towards Sakura and Konan, who were fighting nearest to the older males. In the seconds before the water reached them, two things happened in quick succession: Konan made the grave mistake of to glancing over to her partner, only to receive the shock of her life as she witness his lifeless body being held up by another member of their organization.

"PEIN!" She screamed, taking an unconscious step towards the man who she had spent the better part of her life with.

With sharp deduction and swift planning befitting of the smartest graduate of her class, Sakura struck the ground in the opposite direction from Konan, uplifting clods of rock large enough to be considered boulders. Using mere seconds, she grabbed and yanked and threw, beating the speed of the impeding rapids; the makeshift walls she constructed were enough to direct the torrents of water into a rapid that bowled over her distracted opponent.

**SHANNARO! Take that paper wench!**

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and waited patiently for the blue-haired woman to break the surface so she could really start the pummeling.

Kisame had made the mistake of not taking note of his surroundings; the "lake" had barely held for more than a few minutes, effectively breaking up the scattered fights, before draining down into the ravine that split the giant plateau in two.

"Well damn," he muttered, spikes spurting from the wrapped blade of Samehada to block a physical attack from Kakashi. He had heard Konan's scream and had seen what had become of their leader. There was no love lost, that was for certain, and he regarded the situation with a bemused detachment. His interest only increased when his reflective shark-eyes saw clearly just who it was who killed Pein.

"I knew there was something up with that guy..." Kisame mused to himself, stroking his chin contemplatively.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Naruto's gaze trailed Pein's body as it was tossed aside next to the Tetsuiga before flicking his eyes back up to the man in front of him. He was tall and pale, with spiky black hair that framed his face and decorated red eyes. He was so familiar; there was no mistaking it...

"An Uchiha," Naruto spoke lowly and cautiously. He didn't know what to do at the moment except to buy time until he regained a little more strength. The man did kill Pein—for which he didn't know if he should feel grateful for or not—but at the same time, his instincts were screaming that this man had only ill-willed intentions, and he knew better than to ignore his instincts.

The man before him barely lifted his lips in a smile and it was just then that Naruto noticed the orange swirled mask held limply in his hand.

"How astute of you," the Uchiha commended, "yes, I am an Uchiha. Uchiha Madara, the most powerful of any Uchiha."

Madara...he knew that name...where had he heard it before?

"How...? I thought all the Uchiha were dead."

Madara's face split into an ugly grin, "I can never die. I was here since the beginning of your pathetic little village and I plan to be here after I destroy it."

Naruto let out a small gasp as he remembered where he heard that name before: the Valley of the End—where Uchiha Madara and the first Hokage had faced off. This man had to be over a hundred years old!

"There has never been a shinobi more powerful than I," the Uchiha continued, "Not any of the Sannin, not any of the Akatsuki...not even your father had more power than me."

"My...father..." Naruto mumbled dazedly. It was obvious the allusion was to the Fourth, because there was really only one other shinobi in history whose power could be compared to the Sannin. The whole situation was becoming far too bazaar for him. A third Uchiha claiming to be over a century old and to know who his father was had just appeared out of nowhere and killed Pein.

Of course, Naruto had his suspicions before but he never tried to dwell on it. There was always the remote possibility that his family had been alive and simply abandoned him with the same attitude the villagers held for most of his life. He knew he would never be able to handle a blow like that and simply put all matters concerning his heritage in the back of his mind. On the other hand, if his father did turn out to be the fourth it would just create a shadow over his own name, and he didn't feel he needed that on his plate either.

Madara's cold voice broke Naruto out of his thoughts as he continued his boasting.

"And I am most certainly more powerful than the Wind Runner..."

Naruto glared up at him, meeting the unique Mangekyo Sharingan head on, knowing that his Kyuubi chakra would be useless for this fight but also knowing he had a trump card against the doujutsu, "Did you honestly think that by destroying the bijuu you would have won? They were merely a stepping stone to test my power. I could control them—the demons—my power was more poisonous than their own. I was meant to dominate, to control, to rule."

Naruto glowered; he hated shit like this. People thinking they were 'meant' to do something or tried to make ordinary trials out into "signs". Madara seemed to take his scowl as distress towards his speech.

"I am destined to be not only the most powerful Uchiha, but the most powerful ninja to grace this world—why else would I be the first and only to achieve the final stage of the Sharingan? Why else would I have the power to collect and control the bijuu? Even without them I can still bring this world to realize my worth."

The sky had lightened even further into a glowing indigo rather than the near-black it was before, signaling that daybreak was only a couple hours away.

"That's not destiny, that's delusions. Destiny doesn't work like that," Naruto stated with more confidence than he felt.

Madara let out a chilling laugh—the kind of laugh Naruto last heard from Sasuke years ago when his friend first accepted Orochimaru's bribe of power. He basically just never wanted to hear Uchihas laugh period. It was plain creepy.

The laugh caught more attention from those around them soon both sides of the battle were aware that it wasn't Pein who Naruto was facing down. The fighting slowed by an unspoken agreement and attention was redeployed.

The raven haired man granted Naruto a mocking, tapered stare and sneered, "What would a child know about destiny?"

"What do I know about destiny?" Naruto repeated his question. He opened his mouth to answer and paused. For his entire life he fought the very notion that destiny existed. If he believed in destiny then he would end up believing everything the villagers told him as a kid just to keep him down. He would have believed that it wasn't his place to be Hokage because he wasn't a genius or he because didn't have the right upbringing.

"You want to know what destiny is?" The blonde asked rhetorically. His voice was strong, not with anger but with a sudden understanding, "Destiny is the Powers That Be interfering by sending the Kyuubi to the only place on earth that would have the greatest seals master of that time—"

"It was I who sent the Kyuubi to Konohagakure that night, not some higher power," Madara stated coolly.

"Yes, I'm sure you did," Naruto agreed with him, not happy about being interrupted, "and I'm sure your reasons were purely selfish, but that doesn't mean events out of your control didn't influence your choices. It always comes down to our choices."

Sai and Zetsu had ceased their game of hide and seek, both suddenly more interested in the dark silhouettes facing off at a distance. The dawdling of activity and the flat environment allowed their voices to carry cleanly across the soggy battlefield.

"And I also know you didn't send it there just to be defeated," things starting clicking in place as Naruto spoke—events were making sense in a way that went against everything he stood for but he couldn't stop now that he was on a roll, "Like I said, that night the Kyuubi happened to be sent to the place with the only one who could seal it away so that _you_ wouldn't be able to get to it later—so that there would always be one power that could counter your own—even if all the other bijuu were caught."

Kisame could only stare vacantly, recalling the attempt at extracting the Kyuubi and its utter failure due to the nature of the seal. There had never before been a Jinchuuriki above a five-tail—there just wasn't a seal strong enough to hold that much power within a human body. But here was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki standing before him: a living, breathing contradiction to all that the ninja world knew to be true, yakking about an undeniable truth.

"Destiny," Naruto continued, "is that same container being found by the very people who could train him to fight your 'weapon'. Haven't you realized that everything played out so that there would be one individual that could stop you? After all, they couldn't have you overruling this world with evil. That is destiny, a series of events that are manipulated by the PTB to keep the "balance"."

Naruto took a deep breath, feeling ashamed and enlightened all at once. He never before believed in destiny, but perhaps that was because he had the wrong definition of it. He had no idea where all of this was coming from, or how he just pieced it all together, but somehow it just seemed right.

"But," he decided he needed to get his own point across, "no matter how they set things up, in the end it all comes down to you. Free will cannot be manipulated by any power. Destiny may have been the set-up, but you _chose_ to do this; they are two very different things that speak volumes about character."

As Naruto finished his triad a heavy silence settled over the gruesome vicinity. Even Sasuke and Itachi had stopped fighting to comprehend the insight that was just handed to them. Sakura couldn't get the smile to leave her face, just hearing Naruto's voice had quelled the tightness around her heart. He was alive and shedding light on matters that most other people would completely miss, just as it should be. As soon as she took care of Miss Papier-mâché she was going to give that boy one hell of a big, wet kiss.

And then slap him silly for giving her grey hairs and premature wrinkles.

Kakashi grinned beneath his mask, feeling pride among the stir of thoughts that the overwhelming theosophy had uprooted. Hearing everything lain out like that...it made sense but to know that there was indeed a higher power watching out for them...but still...

Madara's face remained schooled but his eyes said it all to his opponent. A chord had been struck, and struck hard.

"So, in a nutshell," Naruto summed up, "...you suck."

The Jounin nearly lost his footing on watery mud as his student's latest statement carried over to him.

'_He says something profound, and then he opens that mouth of his...Kushina, that is your son alright.'_

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

"Momma! Momma! Momma!"

"What is it sweetie?" Kagome asked, not bothering to look up from the semi-filled W-2 form as her son toddled into the room as fast as his little legs could take him. Just because her husband was a guardian to Hell as well as a demon hunter extraordinaire did not exempt them from paying taxes (sadly).

"Hawwy!" Caleb yelled at the top of his voice, wanting his mother's full attention, "He has booboos!"

Kagome tore her eyes away from her work, completely startled.

"H-Harry? He's here?" She cut herself off once she got a good look at her child: the young boy's clothes were smeared with blood and his eyes were glossy with hot tears. He sniffled a couple times and pointed with his tiny clawed hand towards Bridget's room.

The woman leapt from her chair, grabbing the boy as she bounded over to the teenager's room. The door was already slightly ajar, little bloodied handprints smeared the walls surrounding it—mostly likely from her son.

She pushed through, setting her child back down on the ground as gently as she could without falling over herself. The carpet was soaked with blood—the sour stench hitting her in a sudden blast—and it was no secret as to how her son managed to get it all over his clothes. In the center of the floor lay Harry, completely motionless, his breathing shallow and his skin drawn and pale. Blood continued to trickle from the deep carving in his chest.

"Oh Harry!" Kagome dropped to her knees by his side, running her hands over the deepest wounds, finding heavy residue of foreign demonic energies that confirmed he had recently fought against powerful demons.

"_Hawwy!_" Caleb wailed, the tears finally winning out. He didn't exactly understand what was going on. He could recognize the scent of blood (how could he not with Harry and Naruto running in and out of his house for half of his life) and it was easy to use his sense of scent to trace its sudden appearance to his sister's room. He hadn't seen Harry for a very long time and had missed him a lot. But when he found him on the floor, covered in blood and not waking up no matter how much he shook him, he became very scared. It was a feeling he couldn't define, like a sixth sense that either dogs or demons have that recognize the arrival of death.

Caleb, so distraught with the thought of Harry dying—even if he didn't understand such a concept yet—made to hug him.

"No, no!" Kagome grabbed his hand from touching the body, not wanting him to get any more involved with the horrific ordeal. "Go get mommy a wet wash cloth; I'll make Harry all better. And tell daddy to come in here when he comes home and to bring some blood-replenishing potion. Can you do that for me?"

The youngster nodded and quickly shuffled out of the room, eager to help out in any way he could.

"What have you done to yourself now," the priestess muttered, turning back to her patient. Little by little, demonic and spiritual residue cleared from the wounds, allowing Harry's own regenerating abilities to slowly pick up the pace. She knew she had to go down the small greenhouse she kept up in the back yard and mix together some medicinal herbs as well as find a bottle of blood-replenishing potion. She stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans.

"What the hell happened?!"

Kagome screamed—the voice sounded right behind her, next to her ear—and whirled on the spot to find her husband in understandable shock.

"Inuyasha!" she half-scolded and half-gasped, a hand clutching the material over her chest. He ignored her fright and lowered himself to kneel by his apprentice. Kagome calmed down instantly, her anger forgotten at the worried look pressed upon the hanyou's face as he observed the young man on the floor.

"His summon was released," she explained quietly, though it was probably obvious to him already.

"And Naruto?"

"Haven't seen him yet," Kagome said with a sad softness, "Hopefully Harry will wake up and fill us in. Right now I need you to get a blood-replenishing potion—"

Caleb chose that moment to re-enter the room with a clean, wet washcloth in his hands, a steady drip of water straggling along his wake. He noticed his father in the room and his solemn look was wiped away.

"Hi daddy!" he exclaimed with a renewed happiness only a child could muster in such a situation and needlessly stated, "Harry has booboos."

Inuyasha smiled warmly at the dog-eared boy. "Yes, I can see that."

Kagome gently shuffled her son into the room and settled him by Harry's side.

"Cal, you wash Harry's face with this and me and daddy will get stuff to help Harry, ok? And be gentle."

"Ok," he replied simply. He could sense that the suffocating loom of death had lessened considerably and his young mind knew that it was a good sign. He no longer felt the panic or confusion that was so devastating not too long ago, and happily began to pat the bloody mess on his godfather's face.

A couple minutes later and Harry began to grimace under the cold ministrations. Caleb stopped at the movement and drew away.

"Hawwy?" he lightly prodded the man in the cheek with a sharp claw.

"Nnnn," was the response in the form of a moan. Heavy eyelids, crusted with blood, slowly drew apart to see spinning, blurred objects.

"HAWWY YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"AHGH!"

A sudden weight had been dropped around Harry's neck, squeezing the already abused air passage. It was gone a moment later and he could recognized the scolding voice overhead—one he hadn't heard in months.

"Caleb, you hurt him! You don't jump on hurt people like that."

"I sowwy..."

The brightness of the room didn't hurt so much and blurs slowly sharpened into images, the first being a benign face hovering above him.

"Hey pup," Inuyasha grinned as if nothing was out of the ordinary, "I see you got your ass kicked. Well done."

Harry gave a weak smile.

"You should see the other guy."

"What happened?" Kagome's strong, worried voice broke through, making it clear that she was not in the mood for their joking, "And where's Naruto?"

"Naruto's fine, I think," Harry wheezed his answer, wincing as Kagome began dabbing crushed herbs into his open wounds, "His friends had shown up not too long ago, so he's not alone. We managed to take out all the demons."

"No kidding?" Inuyasha grinned. He lifted Harry's head up with one hand and brought the uncorked bottle of blood-replenishing potion to his lips with the command: "Drink this."

Harry choked a bit at the odd angle, the red liquid dribbling down the corners of his mouth, but all in all managing to ingest most of it.

"Better?" Kagome worried. Harry nodded, the dizziness already starting to clear away.

"Much thanks."

She sighed, leaning back on her heels. That had been much too close of a call for her liking.

"There's more," Harry continued. His voice was still weak and he knew that he would soon lose consciousness; his body needed the sleep to properly begin healing, but he had to get this out while he still could. Inuyasha leaned in so that he wouldn't have to speak as loud.

"Yeah...?"

Harry gave a bloody grin and taunted, "I figured out Naruto before you did."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, clearly disbelieving but willing to hear him out.

"He's was the Jinchuuriki to the most powerful bijuu, right?" Harry began, "Since birth, his chakra canals were steadily stretched past normal human limits, he was forced to recognize the differences in chakra through mediation—making him that much more aware of his being on the whole. With such a refined management of his mental state and the physical capacity to hold foreign chakra, he was not only the ultimate vessel, he was the ultimate medium."

"A medium?" Kagome sounded perplexed, "as in someone who channels spirits?"

"Exactly," Harry rasped. Converse to Kagome's confusion, a spark of comprehension glinted in Inuyasha's eyes.

"What happened?" he asked, already putting the pieces together. Harry ignored the question in favor of adding more clarification.

"Yes, channeling. You know his other element? Heaven or void or whatever you called it," his head was starting to feel very heavy and he struggled to continue, "It left him open to nature...and with his mental and physical abilities from being a Jinchuuriki..."

"Harry, what happened?" Inuyasha asked again, more forcefully. But already he was connecting the dots, recalling the two times he saw Naruto call upon a force more powerful than himself.

"Gaia," Harry breathed out in happiness, "Naruto is...he's the avatar of Gaia..."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

See, see? I am back on track! Very overwhelming chapter—I know I just threw a bunch of overwhelming shizzle such as the destiny and the Gaia bit (which will be elaborated a bit more next chapter) but throughout the entire story I have been dropping hints like whoa, so don't yell!

Also, I put Naruto's location in his world somewhere around where Japan is located, so the time difference is why it's daytime with Bridget, Kagome, etc.

Thanks very much to **strider741** for putting up with my nonsense and ridding the chapter of lunacy.

And just so you all know...IM 21 ON SUPERBOWL SUNDAY! YAY!!!!! I'll be crushing beer cans on my forehead like a pro (a.k.a. putting ring-shaped dents in my head) and it will be perfectly legal.

GO PATS! W00T!

Cheer with me damn it.

Next chapter: the shit does hit-ith the fan-ith...again-ith

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o   
STRIDER ATTACK!!!

Ok guys, I know our dear friend Shiva has been mentioning me for a while. So for once, I decided to actually put in a little word in this AN. (And actually TRY to edit an AN of hers so it actually makes some more grammatical sense! But alas, I'm no miracle worker...)

Therefore, since she has been so nice to let me post today's chapter... (Her school internet is not liking at the moment) I have decided that I can give her a nice and embarrassing birthday send off!

Dear Shiva; Editing for you these past 6 months or so has been one fun experiance after another. Now that you are on the cusp of full legal adulthood, I have but one thing to say: Please keep your enjoyment of your new privilages (IE: **Drinking!!**) away from your story writing! My job is hard enough as is!! (_Just kidding!_)

Have a wonderful and safe birthday and know that I'll be keeping my phone off **ALL DAY** so I dont have to hear any drunken phone calls from you! (Nah! ;P)

Lots of Luv!

Strider714


	28. The Cavalry has Arrived

**Chapter 28**

"Avatar of Gaia," Kagome mumbled in befuddlement. She cocked her head to the side and looked at her husband. "What exactly does that mean?"

Inuyasha had a broad, wolfish grin on his face—the kind she usually sees when he's done something to Sesshomaru that would suggest he had no self-preservation instinct whatsoever.

"It's the spirit of the Earth, babe," he replied easily but she could tell by his tone that he was in stupefaction at how he himself had missed it, "Most humans have even caught on by now; they've come up with the Gaia Theory that suggests that Earth is one giant living organism. Keh, holy shit...I can't believe you figured it out before me, pup."

"Watch your mouth!" Kagome snapped. She covered Caleb's ears with her hands as the child sat in her lap, looking around the room nonplussed. It was obvious that he was lost on what was going on around him and that he didn't care; all that mattered to him was that the atmosphere had calmed down significantly.

Harry cracked a grin before wincing at the shock of pain that wracked his body. He may have been saved from death but it would appear he had quite a ways to go before he would be up and moving around again.

"Yeah," he grunted nonetheless, "I can't either. Though I did have the advantage of being around him all this time..."

"Hold up, you two. Are you saying that Naruto is channeling the spirit of the Earth through his _body_?" Kagome asked the pair after looking over Harry's body once more in concern.

Inuyasha nodded fervently and it was clear that the entire prospect had him very excited, "It makes sense too. Like Harry said—his body was slowly being molded as the perfect container throughout his entire life. In addition to that, his other elemental affinity, void, gave Gaia an open-door policy to his mind. It's not like Gaia can just possess anybody, ya know."

Kagome found herself nodding in agreement at that.

"So Naruto's real purpose in being a Jinchuuriki wasn't just about saving his village, it was to prepare him for being a vessel for the Earth so...so it could act through him," she tried to surmise what she was hearing. It did make sense in a way—after all, how else would he have managed to keep his core completely pure with a chakra as malevolent as the Kyuubi's molding into his body?

Harry closed his eyes, the weight of his eyelids finally winning out in their battle to drop, but the grin remained on his face as he reminisced over the battle.

"You guys should have seen it," he whispered hoarsely, "it was the most incredible thing I had ever seen. Gaia had manifested itself into this...like...corporeal form of energy that literally pulled the bijuu into Hell. It even took some of the burden of the gate off of me and worked through Naruto's body like he was a puppet—"

Harry broke down in more violent coughs which were soon releasing small flecks of blood. Caleb squealed in alarm and wriggled out of his mother's grasp with the intent to somehow help the afflicted.

"Hawwy!" he wailed, distressed as his godfather struggled to catch his breath. Inuyasha grabbed his squirming son around the waist and held him away from his apprentice so that Kagome could tend to him.

"You're running a slight fever," the priestess muttered to the shivering boy. She ran a warm washcloth over some of the blood caked on his neck, "and we should move you to a bed. You really need to sleep."

Her voice sounded oddly tight as she said this and Inuyasha set their boy on the ground so that he could kneel next to his mate. Sure enough, the orange tones of the setting sun managed to catch the tears in Kagome's eyes beautifully. He sighed, sensing an emotional breakdown coming on from the sudden stress of the afternoon.

"Come on Kagome, don't start needlessly crying again," he laughed lightly as he rubbed her back in soothing, calming circles, "Everything's going to be ok, now. Harry is **not** going to die. You did great, babe. Besides, he doesn't even have the strength to accuse you of being pregnant this time around."

Kagome glared at him through watery eyes and sniffled. Inuyasha's hand slid from her back much in the same manner that his uneasy grin slid off his face. Apprehension welled as he took a small sniff over his mate.

"H-HOLY SHIT YOU REALLY ARE PREGNANT!"

"STOP SWEARING DAMN IT!"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Sasuke stared at the shadowed wooden doors before him, silently cursing this latest genjutsu he had fallen victim to. Had his brother managed to slip the Tsukuyomi on him through all the layers of genjutsu they had built upon each other? Those sliding doors had haunted his psyche for ten years; they had served as the last barrier to his childhood innocence. The moment he opened those doors...

"Don't open the door Sasuke."

The voice, sinister and chilling, resounded within his mind, causing him to relive his actions the last time he heard them. He had opened the doors that night, and the sight had left him permanently disturbed. It was going to happen again, wasn't it? Against his better judgment, his hand lifted, reaching towards the handle of the door. He shifted his weight in preparation to enter the room and heard a slick, squelching noise from the sole of his sandals.

He looked down, half expecting to see a trail of blood—after all it would have been appropriate for the scenario. However, instead of hardwood floors beneath his feet, it was thick mud that he was sinking in, his left foot slightly deeper than the right. With hardly noticeable movements he shifted further to the left and sure enough the ground was feebler, more watery, and he sunk lower. He had managed to fight against the genjutsu enough to keep a part of reality's environment with him. Thinking back to what he last remembered of his surroundings, he recalled that the ground had turned to mud due to Kisame's jutsu and common sense told him the mud was soupier where there was more water. The water was draining down over the sides of the ravine so that could only mean...

He closed his eyes; he knew where his brother was, not beyond the doors, standing over his parents bodies in a remake of that fateful night, but behind him...waiting for him to follow the same footsteps as before, through the doors and into his trap.

He wasn't seven anymore. Nor was he twelve.

In one smooth motion he turned and hooked his brother around the neck in a completely uncharacteristic-for-an-Uchiha tackle.

He swung the pair of them over the edge of the ravine.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"You have a lot of guts, staring directly into my Mangekyo Sharingan like that," Madara drawled indolently in a short preamble before their inevitable fight, "or perhaps you are really as foolish as they say you are."

Naruto's stare appeared to narrow in defiance at his opponent's observation. That was how Madara interpreted it at any rate—a face of nothing more than insolence. In truth, Naruto was having a mini panic attack; throwing up shields around his mind in preparation for what he knew was soon to come. This was what he trained with Inuyasha in Occlumency for and while he was quite efficient with it against a Legilimens; he had never tested it against an Uchiha before. Starting off against the strongest Sharingan didn't seem like such a good idea to him.

"It's time for you to die, Jinchuuriki," the raven haired elder sneered, "but first, I think you could do with some moral degradation. It wouldn't be very fun if I took you out right away...especially with that insolent look on your face. It's time you know your place and you will rue the day you addled in my affairs."

The last thing Naruto saw was the wildly spinning black waves that adorned those haunting red irises before he was forced to close his own eyes. The experience was completely different from when he remembered Itachi had last used his Sharingan on him. Years ago he couldn't tell whether he was in a genjutsu or not, nothing felt physically different and it wasn't until something completely bizarre occurred that he would catch on to the illusion.

But this time around he had sensed the foreign presence in his mind instantaneously. It was almost similar to a Legilimency probe, though instead of a specific poke the Sharingan felt as if it were attempting to encompass his entire mind.

Bits and pieces of Inuyasha's lessons floated within in mental walls.

'_Stay back, try and see the whole picture...focusing in on one probe is how they can break down your walls...'_

He reinforced his mental shields and Madara's frustration leaked through among the crushing force against his mind. The bastard was clearly stumped as to how Naruto was remaining untouched by his specialized genjutsu.

'_The best offense is a good defense...using a foreign probe is a good way to channel Legilimency through Occlumency shields…'_

This was more than just a probe; Madara was unknowingly, and perhaps arrogantly, baring his entire mind to Naruto. With a feral grin in place, the blonde collected his meditated strength he had accumulated over the years and pushed forwards against the opposition. Unlike with Inuyasha, there was no slamming sensation against opposite Occlumency walls. Clearly, Madara had always relied on his eyes to overpower other mental attacks while truly believing that nothing in this world could overpower them. But beyond those eyes his defenses were nearly nonexistent. He made the grave mistake of messing with other people's minds without bothering to understand his own.

Naruto had much more control than his last Legilimency escapade and he specifically targeted the most emotionally triggering events that he could pull up.

_...The darkness was unbearable; there was hardly any light in this world for him. He needed the light, he needed control again. He could feel his brother trembling beneath his grip and the dark foreboding that had seized the heart of the younger Uchiha saturated the air around them. He would have never done this otherwise...he cared for his brother...but the Mangekyo had somehow possessed him...changing his ideals...this was _worth_ it..._

"_Forgive me."_

_His fingers plunged deep into the eye socket of his only sibling, the screams rebounding through the compound..._

With a small grimace Naruto pushed forward. At least he had found the root of the 'immortal's' behavior; the Mangekyo Sharingan had clearly originated from Hell. It must have been a gift from a demon of some sort...

_...Now Madara was on the ground, struggling for breath in a defeated state that was the closest he could ever remember coming to dying._

"_Madara! You are never to return to this village. The council and I are in agreement; you are here forth banished from Konoha!"_

_He glared up from his position on the ground, the tall and imposing figure of his best friend towered over his own...the newly instated Shodaime Hokage. The ever painful sting of betrayal clawed at him before it was swallowed by loathing._

Naruto couldn't believe the absolute quantity of hate that clouded this mind. He almost pitied the man.

_...It was nearly two decades ago and Madara was found pacing madly within a stone walled lair._

"_What? What do you mean the Kyuubi was defeated?" he hissed about the news that was just presented to him._

"_I-I'm sorry sir...' answered a timid chuunin with a leaf hitai-ate fashioned around his arm—clearly a traitor in the making, "it was the fourth Hokage sir...it appears that he sealed it into a baby."_

"_A __**baby**__?"_

"_Yes sir. H-his name is Uzumaki Naruto and the third Hokage is keeping him alive..."_

_Madara paused in his pacing._

"_So Konoha now has a Jinchuuriki, huh?" A searing hatred bubbled up inside him at the very notion that Konoha was still standing without him at its rule. This Uzumaki Naruto...already he detested the child. Faster than the poor Konoha ninja could respond, he flung a sword girded hand out to the side, slashing the boy across the middle with a loud curse._

"_DAMN IT!" _

Naruto pulled back; his fatigue had reached new levels and he knew it was dangerous to go any further. If he had somehow lost his stride while probing someone else's mind he could have easily been taken advantage of. His legs had finally had enough and gave out on him, his knees hitting the stony ground hard. Wincing from the harsh contact, he peered up through the sweat dripping in his wavering vision to see if his attack had any impact on his opponent.

Madara was also on his hands and knees across from him, his body was wracked with tremors and a light sheen of perspiration had broken out over his forehead.

"You—you demon...h-how?" the eldest Uchiha gasped out; it was clear that he was completely unprepared for the sudden power that left him so vulnerable. That child was on the brink of death, yet he just countered the most powerful Kekkei Genkai in the ninja world and blew through his mind like a whirlwind. The feeling of being powerless as someone rooted through your most impressive memories was something he never thought he would ever have to experience; it was something he never wanted to experience again.

Madara slowly rose to his feet as his mind calmed down and his body gradually regained control. His stance was weary; looking back at the boy who was ineffectively struggling to stand on his own two feet left him wondering how the Jinchuuriki could manage such a technique in his condition. He didn't see the boy use any hand seals—how could he miss it with the Sharingan?—so it couldn't have been a jutsu. He shook his head, his thoughts clearing and his purpose coming into focus once more.

It didn't matter how it was done, what mattered was that someone with the power to counter the Sharingan should not exist.

"Very well," Madara spoke calmly, repossessing his cool composure and brushing a few sweaty strands of dark hair from his face, "I don't need the Sharingan to destroy the likes of you. Your demonic power is useless against me as an Uchiha—"

Naruto ignored him, already sick of the monologging—though the gallingly slick voice was being drowned out regardless. The blonde knew he was hurt and hurt bad; his condition wasn't that much better off than Harry's was before the fatal blow. He had been counting on Legilimency to incapacitate Madara at best, but there was no way he stood a chance at physically fighting him. Fighting three bijuus, calling upon Gaia, using the Tetsuiga...none of those things could accurately be described as "energy-preserving".

A high pitched chirping noise forced his ears to draw back as much as a human's could. The flickering electric-blue flashes forced his attention back to Madara, who had apparently finished speaking. Naruto's eyes widened at the attack crackling in the Uchiha's hand. The pink hue that lined the horizon only added to the effect of illuminating Madara's maddened features. Daybreak was near, but Naruto doubted that he would live to see it.

"Chidori," Madara stated unnecessarily with the electric attack twittering away in his palm, "you'll have to thank your little friend for showing me this...you'll be meeting him in the afterlife once Itachi has disposed of him."

And without further ado, he charged.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Sakura reared her fist back and planted it heavily into the stomach of her opponent. Instead of fluttering away into thousands of paper pieces, Konan's body contorted slightly to her fist, her soaked state leaving her stuck together as wet paper would. The blue haired woman gasped in pain and in frustration, some blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth and down her chin. With her body as drenched as it was she couldn't use more than half of her techniques; the pink-haired bitch had disabled her well.

With a smirk, Sakura attacked again, gathering more chakra in her fist in the process. If this kept up she would have this fight in the bag. She knew she was running low on chakra after spending so much time wasting attacks on her flighty opponent. She had to end this quickly.

The sound of the ever familiar chidori reached her ears and she faltered in her step, knowing that it was coming from the wrong direction that Sasuke or Kakashi were last fighting in. She glanced over to the pair farthest from her own fight and unintentionally released the chakra from her arm.

The battered silhouette of the blonde of her heart was on his knees, his exhaustion radiating all the way across the plain to where she stood. Naught twenty paces away from him was the strange man who had killed Pein, poised and ready to destroy his defenseless target.

"NARUTO!" She screamed, turning away from her charge in a vain attempt to reach him. Kakashi and Sai were both alerted by her cry and they too froze in their activities, staring on in horror at the inevitable death of their comrade.

Sakura never got to see what happened to her boyfriend; Konan had taken advantage of her distraction and attacked with her own personalized paper bomb, the explosion catching the medic off guard and hurling her several feet across the muddied plains.

Kakashi released a cry of pain as Kisame had the same idea as his coworker, the Samehada slamming into his back, cracking his spine and drawing forth a generous supply of his chakra in the process. He crashed to the ground, his body refusing to move due to the spinal damage, his reserves bordering empty.

Sai was the only one who saw Sasuke and his brother fall down the ravine; he was the only one who noticed both his teammates being struck down by their assigned Akatsuki targets; he was the only one who saw Madara push off from the ground to finish off one of his first real friends. They were doing so well at first, so how did it all go so wrong?

Sakura grunted trying to pick herself back up with bleeding limbs before freezing once she realized that she didn't hear chidori anymore. The attack was finished.

She didn't want to look up—she already felt her chest constrict with the risk of crying—but some traitorous part of her body caused her neck to lift and her watering eyes to focus on what she was sure was an horrifying sight.

What she saw next made her positive that mixing powdered caffeine with three food pills before the mission was a bad idea.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Naruto hadn't even seen Sasuke move as fast as Madara had with a powered up chidori. It was just a flash of blue—that was all he could discern out of it before he let his eyes slip shut in capitulation. He could have tried to dodge or at least counter attack but it would have hardly made a difference. His body was at its end; he could feel it trying to start up again with his regenerating abilities, but that would take minutes at the least and he hardly had a second.

In no time he could feel the heat of the electricity warm his face in the very instant before he was to be struck...

Something hit him in the side of the stomach and wrapped around him, lifting him. He was elevated, wind brushing along his whiskers to indicate speed, and set back down. There was a crash and a swear and only then did he open his eyes.

Madara was several feet below him now, his fist planted deep into the large slab of rock that Naruto could recall previously being behind him...and which he was now miraculously perched on top of. A dirty look graced the regal features of Madara and Naruto followed the glower—surprisingly not directed at himself—to the presence he could already sense beside him.

Yakushi Kabuto stood tall at his side, Otokage robes billowing in the light breeze and round glasses reflecting the newest colors to adorn the slowly brightening sky. The grey hair was still held up in its customary ponytail and mysterious black eyes narrowed at the villainous man below.

Naruto could do little more than blink up at the older man; his heart was still pounding painfully against his ribs from the close call as he continued to fruitlessly try and wrap his mind around the situation. Had Kabuto just..._saved_ _him_ from...Madara?!

"W-why...?" he croaked at the other man. He felt dehydrated, his voice thick and his head dizzy. The bizarreness of the situation was not helping matters. He was sure being a Kage had wizened the alleged sociopath up to human nature a bit more, but he still believed the former traitor wasn't exactly trustworthy. And how could he have just shown up here out of the blue? Sound wasn't anywhere near this area.

Kabuto's glare softened as he moved his attention from Madara to the young man at his feet. A sincere looking smile graced his face that was implicative of the first time Naruto had seen him smile back in the Chuunin exams.

"You saved us from the bijuu." He answered simply, "It's only proper that we save you."

Tiny black spots dotted the corners of his vision and his head felt strangely clamped and heavy. The blood loss had probably started to take some affect on him and it was just his fortune that he had no blood-replenishing potion left. He found it difficult to grasp what was going on around him, let alone understand what Kabuto was telling him.

"We...?" he mumbled in confusion.

The standing man tipped his head toward the battle-ridden plains. Naruto looked out to where Kabuto had indicated with his chin and almost fell off the lofty rock he was seated on.

His heart stopped and his breath hitched.

Four other newcomers stood out sorely against the dark blood and muck with their clean, white robes and triangular hats. Their auras pulsed with new, fresh energy, rivaling those of any Akatsuki member. There they were, standing side by side; poised and armed and ready to prove to the world just why they were named "Kage".

"Wha—how—huh?" Naruto blinked stupidly, every sentence he attempted to start came out in little more than a breath of bewilderment as he turned his gaze from the Raikage to the Tsuchikage to the Mizukage to the—well, to Gaara...

"Tsunade sent her slugs," Kabuto murmured in an explanation. He sounded far too calm in Naruto's opinion, as he was currently trying to prevent himself from developing a brain aneurism.

"They came here for...for me?" he whispered, trying to fathom the very concept. He watched somewhat distractedly as the four other Kages scattered across the land, each moving in to aid the floundering leaf ninja.

"Naruto...you rescued our villages from certain destruction without us even asking it of you. Even if one of our villages wasn't on good terms with Konoha, you still came at a moment's notice. The world owes you this. Besides, we tried sending our own ninja out to take on the Akatsuki once before and it just didn't cut it. I guess it's true what they say: if you want a job done right you have to do it yourself."

And to both their amusement, Kabuto winked before leaping down from their safety perch and onto a rancorous and highly incensed Madara. The results were immediate; the Akatsuki were quickly being overpowered by the added help, especially after battling on with such capable opponents from Konoha beforehand. Victory was nearly on the horizon along with the sun.

Naruto wanted to laugh; everyone had come here to help him! _Him_. The dead-last. The knucklehead. The demon kid. He only wished that Harry could have been here to see this. They would have had such a laugh together...

He coughed a little as he chucked to himself, feeling slightly delirious with all that had happened in the last hour. The only reason his body had made it as far as it had was due to the training he had put himself through: building up his pain tolerance as well as exercising his regenerating abilities had allowed him to continually take on opponents more powerful than himself; his Occlumency and Legilimency training had allowed him to engage Madara, if only briefly; his elemental training had given him the ability to call upon that greater power—every bit of his training with Inuyasha and Harry had paid off in the end.

His breathing was more regulated now and he could feel his chakra starting to pick up a more regular pace. Figuring he had enough strength to at least stand, he slowly pushed himself to his feet.

**Snap**

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Daddy, why did mommy hit you?"

"'Cuz mommy's crazy."

A sharp, warning glare from said mommy shut the hanyou up good. Kagome turned her attention to her son and rubbed some dried blood off his cheek with her thumb.

"Mommy's not crazy; daddy was just being a dum-dum. But you, mister, are going to be a big brother. What do you think of that?"

Caleb had a wide, toothy grin squished between chubby cheeks and clapped his hands delightedly.

"I'm a big brother!" he didn't seem to realize that the new baby wouldn't be arriving for many months; in fact he didn't seem to realize what being a big brother meant. Nevertheless, his excitement was still genuine as he rushed over to his godfather's side and shook Harry's arm for his attention. "I'm a big brother, Hawwy! I'm a big brother!"

"I heard," he muttered with a lazy grin and one eye cracked open. Kagome frowned, seeing how much effort the young wizard was putting into staying conscious for their sake, and pulled her son away from him for the umpteenth time.

"Caleb, go get ready for a bath."

"Aw, but—"

"The only butt I want to see from you is a naked one. Now go."

Pouting, the little boy left the room, struggling to pull his bloody shirt over his head at the same time.

"You can go to sleep now Harry," Kagome hushed softly once the loveable nuisance had left the room. She could see that he was still struggling to breathe properly and brushed some hair back from his face in a gentle attempt to ease his discomfort, "You've done enough now."

"Wait...you have to know..."

"There's more?" Inuyasha asked with raised eyebrows. He too was hoping that Harry would just allow himself to fall asleep; it was obvious that being awake was bringing him nothing but pain.

Harry's eyes were closed and his body's need for rest had at last dominated his will, but his last few words managed to escape his lips in a final conscious breath.

"The...seal..."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

DUN DUN DUN...

Heh, Inuyasha, that dum-dum. Dum-dum want gum-gum!

Uh, right...And just for future reference, I'm not even going to bother warning you guys about spoilers anymore...it should be expected by now.

Also...this cool young reader actually made a tribute to Experiments using sprites right here: http:// monkeyman88j . deviantart . com / art / Tribute-to-Experiments-76915588

It's just so cute!

Anyway...so what's happened to Naruto? What's happened to Sasuke? It will all be revealed in the next chapter! Read on, faithful readers! I mean, when the next one comes out, of course...

Thanks for the reviews! You all know how feedback makes me smile! Actually everything makes me smile. Except spectraphotometry. That just makes me cry.


	29. The Price of Freedom

**Chapter 29**

Sasuke awoke with a loud gasp-turned-hack. The new air in his lungs pushed against the numerous broken ribs he must have acquired from the fall and the jarring coughs filled his mouth with blood from ruptured organs. He lay there, on his back, struggling to breathe and trying to make sense of his situation. The pain he was in was more than enough to dispel the waves of genjutsu he and his brother had cast over and over again like wizards. They were both handicapped by the layers of illusions they had piled on each other as they dropped in between the plains; they might as well have been falling blind.

As the seconds ticked by his senses gradually came back to him. A fresh, earthy scent met his nose, the pain throughout his body steadily increased as he became more aware of it, and he couldn't feel his brother near him.

Slowly—as he found the task strangely difficult—he cracked his eyes open to view his new surroundings, as well as, hopefully, to locate his brother. He didn't know what he would do if the bastard escaped again.

Unlike the dusty and barren plains above, the bottom of ravine was mossy, wet and green. Water trickled down each dark wall of rock like a tropical rainforest. The ground underneath him was soft and moist, a spattering of moss and rock and dirt. He could smell blood, and not all of it was his own.

He tried to look at the source, but he couldn't move his neck. It was obvious that he had broken far more than ribs—he could already feel his body failing. It was painful, but he slowly managed to shift his body so that he was lying on his side that was to the left. The movement brought him sudden awareness of the sticky sensation on the back of his head and it was then that he noticed his ear was wet with a warm, congealed substance. He must have cracked his head open in the fall.

Squinting through the darkness, his sore eyes managed to focus on the figure before him and he wanted to laugh.

The sun hadn't risen yet, but the source of light it was providing came directly from behind him and it was enough to illuminate the mangled visage of his brother. The twenty-two year old had landed belly-up, with a jagged piece of stone piercing through his back, holding him a few feet off the ground. His body was splayed out; eyes still open in shock, blood dribbling both down his face and down the base of the stone that protruded from his broken figure.

The great Uchiha Itachi was killed by a rock.

Somehow he wanted to cry as well.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

The feeling Naruto had just a scant moment ago was nearly indescribable; he was emotionally touched in such a way had him nearly reduced to tears. He had taken out every bijuu from this world. He had won the respect of the village who had hated him so ardently in his youth. The world knew him and revered him as the Wind Runner. The entire Akatsuki was going to be defeated because the _Kages themselves_ had come to help _him_. He had finally gotten Sakura to love him.

And then his fucking seal had to break!

He could _feel_ it snap, too. It was a sensation that could almost be described as a twinge. Not a second after the seemingly harmless 'twinge' and a blistering coldness swept up from within his stomach and throughout his body in a wash of foreboding. His spine felt like it suddenly turned to stone and he found difficulty in swallowing.

Naruto tried not to move or breathe; irrationally hoping that it would stop the inevitable. Nevertheless, he could feel power rapidly welling up inside him—not a comforting kind like before with the bijuu, but an ominous and accursed influence that told of nothing but horror—like a pot about to boil over.

The Kyuubi's raucous laughed echoed loud throughout his mind in deep cackles—its confinements were demolished and it was already stretching its legs. When the beast escaped, not only would Naruto die, but so would his friends, so would Sakura-chan, so would the leaders of every village. The entire world would be thrown into chaos with this singe event. He had worked so hard to finally bring it peace and in the end it would be him who would destroy it. He couldn't stomach the irony. He couldn't even stomach his own demon.

There was no question in his mind as to what his next course of action would be; he couldn't afford to dwell on his options or think about any aftermaths. Pulling as much chakra as he needed for this in his current condition would mean dipping into the Kyuubi's reserves, which, in turn, would bring his release that much faster. But it was a consequence that was unavoidable. This was definitely one of those "now or never" times.

With renewed but fleeting strength he speedily pushed his hands against his torso—which was already releasing thin wisps of red chakra—covering them in his own blood, and slammed both palms on the ground with one person in mind.

"_Phasma Vir Voco!"_

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

"The seal!" Inuyasha repeated sharply, but Harry had already succumbed to a blissful oblivion. The statement was far too open-ended for his liking; it could have implied any number of related situations. Had they found a way to fix the seal in their travels? Or had it actually...

"Oh—oh God! Harry!"

Kagome jerked harshly at the new voice while her husband—who was still contemplating every different scenario regarding the seal—ignored it. She twisted her neck in time to see an extremely hysterical Bridget land beside her.

"What happened?!" the girl demanded as she began stroking her boyfriend's face. The knees of her jeans were already stained red from the blood that had soaked into her carpet.

"They were fighting bijuu from what I gather," Kagome answered soothingly; Bridget looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. But who could blame her? She comes back from an ordinary day at school and finds her intended mate motionless and severely injured on her bedroom floor.

"Is he...?"

"He'll be fine," Inuyasha assured her, "right now I think we may need to worry about Naruto."

Bridget kept her golden eyes trained on Harry's unmoving face, "Why? What's happening?"

"Something might be wrong with the seal," said Kagome, "Harry passed out before he could tell us. Inuyasha, maybe you should go check on him?"

Inuyasha nodded his silent agreement. He didn't like not knowing what was going on with his apprentices and he'd be damned if Naruto was reduced to the same state Harry was. He had planned on traveling through his gate in the same manner he had been using the last couple times he went to Naruto's world, but before he could so much as stand he felt an unusual tug on his body and suddenly the room around him swirled out of sight.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Amidst the pain tearing away at his stomach and the anguish relating to his final decision, a tiny spark of relief was set aflame when Naruto saw that his summoning was successful. The spark was short lived as the red chakra began releasing itself from the seal faster and in far more concentrated amounts. Heated blood bubbled out of his pores and he moaned as his skin charred.

Kagome coughed as the smoke cleared away from her arrival. The disorientation of being moved across worlds so suddenly had settled fast enough once the sinister, demonic aura next to her hitched significantly. She shrunk back without even looking first; the aura burned at her face and exposed arms and her spiritual powers flared in an unconscious response. As she leaned away, her weight fell on something curved, sleek and hard. Looking down she saw her bow and satchel of arrows; they must have been magically attached by the summoning...

"Kagome..."

She looked to where her named was called, releasing a small cry when she saw Naruto suffering and marred, waves of the Kyuubi's chakra swirling thicker and thicker around his body, taking form above him.

"Naruto!" she made a foolish move to reach forward and quickly retracted her hand with a small hiss. She couldn't get within five feet of him without being burned. He stumbled a few paces away from her and appeared to be battling something within him while seeking to communicate with her.

"Kagome," he gasped and narrowed his eyes as he focused in on her, "...listen to me."

She trembled, already knowing what he would ask of her.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Inuyasha had grown accustomed to having control over matters surrounding his own life; over the centuries he had advanced in both power and influence and had a way of getting things to work out for him. There were really only two factors in his life that he found uncontrollable. The first was the uncanny circumstances that always seemed to happen around one Naruto Uzumaki. The second was the Powers That Be.

Finding himself suddenly before the monstrous metal doors in an otherwise completely white environment sent Inuyasha's heart plummeting to the pit of his stomach.

"Motherfuckers..." he growled before shoving his way through one dense door. As usual there were five, white-cloaked and hooded figures standing in a line before him, a sanctimonious aura permeated the air around them.

"Inuyasha..." one of the voices floated over to his irate form, though he didn't know from which nor did he care.

"_What?"_ he snapped. He wasn't going to bother with pleasantries, even if they were technically his "boss". For them to interfere with him helping Naruto could only mean something bad was going to happen and—according to their rule—that it was 'meant to happen'.

None of the Powers bothered to reprimand his impertinence; he was young, after all.

"This must happen. If you save him now an unbridled danger will still exist," the tallest spoke ethereally. Inuyasha wanted to throw something at them but the only other object beside the PTB themselves was the doors, and that just wasn't practical. They were keeping him for no other reason than to stop him from preventing Naruto's death.

"This is bull shit." He threw back at them, "danger always exists! Isn't that what you're all really about? Keeping the _balance_. You can't keep me here!"

But they could, and he knew it. He tried to leave but his body wouldn't comply. He hated this, he hated it so much, knowing that Naruto was most likely dying and he was trapped in purgatory by a group of self-righteous oddities.

He was aware that he was, more often than not, reduced to a petulant child here and only here. At any other time he would have relished in the opportunity to stop pretending to be omnipotent, but nothing was worth being called to the PTB for _this_. Being stuck here, knowing that someone he cares about is dying yet unable to do anything about it. His claws dug into the heels of his palms as he glowered at the council.

"Calm yourself child," a feminine voice next emerged, "this has been since long decided. The boy accepted this responsibility heretofore."

Anyone else would have assumed they were speaking of the responsibility to jail the Kyuubi. But knowing that Naruto really had no choice in that matter, he understood that the responsibility they were speaking of was the responsibility of freeing the ninja world world of demons—all of them. Inuyasha pinched the bridge of his nose; he really, really hated this situation.

"When can I go?" he mumbled, defeated.

"Soon."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

The wind began to pick up on the plains of Amegakure as the ferocious chakra whipped around the pair of individuals set apart from the skirmish of Kages, Konohans and Akatsuki. Naruto's desperation grew in sync with Kagome's evident reluctance. He knew what he was asking Kagome to do was wrong on so many levels, and he knew he shouldn't have even brought her into the middle of a battlefield, but she was the only one who had the power to save everyone from himself.

"I need you to stay here!" Naruto barked with a strident tone that mismatched his condition. He had only one chance to get his point across; he was putting every last ounce of strength and then some to hold off the final blow of the seal. It was killing him. "Don't get near me. It's too late."

Kagome did not take the orders well considering she was on the verge of breaking down and crying.

"But—"

"The Kyuubi is still attached to me as long as the seal is there," he assured her without bothering to look at her—he couldn't look at her, not while asking her to do this. He was on his feet by now.

"No—!"

"All you have to do is hit the seal; it's that simple."

"**IT IS OVER FLESHLING!"**

Naruto unconsciously clenched a hand over his stomach from the words booming within his mind. That was a voice he hadn't heard in two years.

"Simple!" she shrieked in near hysteria and completely unaware to the mental dialogue, "Nothing about this is simple! You're asking me to—"

"You have one shot," he hissed, "Don't let me down. I'm counting on you. _Please_."

Kagome could only gape in a horrified daze, helplessly watching him bolt away. Her mind cleared a bit more once his overpowering demonic aura escaped her—yet reality was far harsher for her to acknowledge than the nightmare she persistently hoped this was.

Naruto darted across the high plains and away from Kagome, not even able to feel his legs but knowing they would move purely out of necessity. He could feel his hold on the seal slipping quicker and quicker as he ran in the best direction that would take him away from any battling humans—knowing that once his grip on the seal finally lost out, he could potentially kill anyone too close to him.

"**YESSSS. I CAN FEEL IT. I CAN TASTE IT."**

Red chakra leaked at an alarming pace from his stomach, leaving a thick trail of the Kyuubi's essence in his wake. Large-scale attack—only privy to Kages and S-class missing-nins—made the plains an orchestra for vibrant explosions, blinding sandstorms, ruinous earthquakes and any other type of distraction. But for all that, it didn't take long for the mounting ominous presence to catch the attention of every contender. Not all were able to stop fighting, but their interest was now at least on the hulking red haze that was taking shape in the sky. Faintly, Naruto could hear yelling—perhaps it was Sakura or Gaara—he didn't care to find out. He had a one track mind right now: get away from everyone. His running became sloppy as he lost control of his body, his feet slipped in the heavy amounts of blood oozing from his burnt skin.

This was it. The seal was going to die. He couldn't go any further.

Stumbling to a stop, he turned to face his liquidator. The sky was a bright pink...just like Sakura's hair...

"AUUGHHHH!" the hoarse scream was ripped involuntarily from his throat as the strained seal exploded. A rush of chakra flew up around him; he could feel it draining straight out of his body as if someone had pulled the plug on his life force. High in the air, the Kyuubi's head had formed with a clawed arm already on its way to completion.

"**THIS IS IT HALF-BREED!"** the beast roared down at his former container. Its chakra was pouring out of the boy and back into its body; a most refreshing sensation, **"IT IS TIME I TAKE MY VENGENCE ON YOU AND ALL YOU HOLD PRECIOUS!"**

"It's the Kyuubi!" the Raikage gasped from half a mile away. It was hard to focus on fighting when the most powerful bijuu in existence was about to gain free reign of the countryside. Even Madara and Kabuto had reached a temporary ceasefire. The Uchiha was not worried in the least, as he had the power to control the fearsome creature of legend. He was weakened incredibly by the combined efforts of the Kages, but with the Kyuubi under his influence again, he could easily use it to wipe away all his opposition.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed. She ran towards him, trying her damnedest to ignore the intensity of the killing intent radiating from the form of Kyuubi. But she was too far away; she would never make it to him before the Kyuubi was completely liberated. And then he would be dead—for real this time!

Kagome remained on her knees throughout it all, her bow held limply in her hand, the satchel had yet to be picked up. It was horrifying to watch the boy she had grown to love like a son agonizingly have a part of his being separated from him quite forcefully. The fox was nearly free by now; it was already beginning to gain back its tails.

Slowly, torturously, Naruto began to lift his shirt with one hand. Drowning out Sakura's screams and the Kyuubi's taunts, he focused solely on the woman kneeling nearly a kilometer away from him. Somehow, through the wild chakra and distance, they made eye contact. He mouthed something to her—the command that she so desperately did not want to fulfill.

"Do it," he had whispered. She couldn't hear him of course, but she could read his lips, she could read the look on his face with the half-lidded eyes and mouth-lines that simply stated he was tired of everything.

She had promised him; he would never forgive her if she let the Kyuubi escape to kill everyone he loved. There was no going back; she had to be strong, for him.

Picking up an arrow from the fallen satchel, she lifted herself upright, and notched it. The once spiral-design was now a broken scatter of black and red fragments, true to its destroyed state, and decorated the tanned skin like confetti tattoos. Still, it was the belly button that she was aiming for. He had one of those half-inny, half-outies that she loved to poke fun at. She choked back a harsh sob and it took every ounce of will power to keep her arm from shaking as badly as her chest was.

"Hit the mark," she whimpered to herself, using the same phrase she repeated every time she shot a demon back when she was learning to harness her spiritual powers. She let the arrow fly. It crossed the battle plains at such a high velocity that it was little more than a pink, glowing laser.

Her aim was true. The pointed head sunk into the boy's stomach, following through halfway before shimmering into vapor. Intense spiritual power flooded the vessel; the fragments of the seal glowed bright pink in the next second and in that same timeframe a pink shimmer traveled up the escaped chakra and covered what was formed of the Kyuubi's body. The entire beast shone for that brief moment with the beautiful light of spiritual energy, screaming the entire time from the agony of being dematerialized. Perhaps if he had not still been attached to his container he would have survived the purification.

The seal vanished from Naruto's stomach and every bit of the Kyuubi no kitsune's chakra was eradicated at that very moment in time, disappearing into the dawn light like stardust. Its deafening screams were abruptly halted as the beast was finally eliminated from existence—and all because three tails were still connected to the leftovers of the fourth's magnificent seal.

The momentum of the arrow, in addition to the force of having the demonic chakra sucked out of him within mere seconds, propelled Naruto backwards from the site he was forced to stop at.

Right over the edge of the ravine that two others had fallen down not so long ago.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

For the first twenty seconds after having both her father and Kagome disappear from the room, Bridget sat in an absolute and stunned silence. Her brain hadn't yet caught on to the fact that she was suddenly alone in a room with her half dead boyfriend.

After Caleb walked in, that left her with her naked four-year-old brother as well.

"Where's mommy?" the youngster asked, completely flagrant to his nudity. Bridget blinked at him, bemused.

"I'll do you one better, kiddo: why are you naked?"

"Bath," he answered with a dismayed pout. Bridget took the time to look over his blood-stained hands and cheeks, and the peculiar scene made a bit more sense. Now the problem was figuring out where her father and Kagome suddenly disappeared to.

"Alright," she sighed, understanding that it would be up to her to bathe Caleb and clean up Harry, "Sit tight while I take care of this first."

Caleb sat his bare tush in the corner of her room that was away from the mess of blood and happily watched his sister wield her magic. Her wand moved as smoothly as was expected of a seventh year, vanishing blood stains and stitching up torn pants. Harry's shirt was banished so that she could properly begin healing the deeper wounds.

"_Episkey_," she murmured, tracing her wand over the lacerations decorating her boyfriend's chest and watching them close.

"But where's mommy?" Caleb finally asked again once she had finished levitating Harry up from the floor and onto her bed. Bridget busied herself with arranging her pillows around Harry so that he would be more comfortable.

"She had to run an errand with dad. She'll be back."

She wasn't watching her brother, she had lost herself as she focused on the peaceful features of the comatose man, so she hadn't realized Caleb had walked up to her until he touched her leg.

"It's ok, Bwidget—" Bridget had to smile at his difficulty with 'r's in names, "Hawwy will be fine. And I'm a big brother!"

"Huh?" she mumbled, cocking an eyebrow at the toddler, "You're a big brother? What do you mean?"

"And Nawuto is Gaia!" he chirped happily, informing her of the only things he could draw from his parent's conversation earlier. He was just trying to help, after all.

"What the—what the hell are you talking about?!"

"Stop sweawing, damn it!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

The sunrise was really, very pretty. He had never really taken the time to properly watch one being as he was a habitual late sleeper. The ground was softer down here too, that was always a plus. Still, that fall hurt like a bitch.

Naruto was on his side, his diaphragm expanding and contracting in slow, struggling breaths. The floor of the ravine was about thirty feet between each canyon wall. In one direction had the dark crevice leading deeper into the plains themselves, in the other direction the floor opened up and played host to a low horizon. That was the direction he laid facing in now, his eyes trained on the brilliant colors that the early morning sky had to offer.

He was finding it difficult to breathe, he couldn't move anymore, and he couldn't feel his body, and yet, for some reason he could feel the pain within him. Figures. His chakra canals were inhumanly broad and the spiritual arrow had successfully erased every aspect of the Kyuubi from his system. The sudden and severe chakra depletion had left his canals dangerously empty. Despite his pain and increasing slip on reality, he could detect that someone was behind him; he could recognize the aura.

"Sasuke?" he whispered. He heard something shift in the darkness behind him in response to his voice. He could still speak, that had to be a good sign, right?

Sasuke couldn't open his eyes; his Sharingan felt like it was burned into his mind—though a part of him had welcomed the inability to stare at his brother's broken, limp body anymore. The heat of the impending sun warmed his back and he was tempted to turn away from the darkness he happened to be facing, but his body was far too crippled to properly obey him. He was too tired to try anyway. The familiar voice startled him.

"N...Naruto...?" he croaked, wondering if he was now having audio hallucinations. Perhaps he'd finally cracked after indirectly killing his last family member and had turned schizophrenic as a result. That would be just his luck.

"Sasuke," the other boy breathed again, suddenly glad that he wasn't alone at this time. Naruto couldn't take his eyes off the horizon, much like he couldn't stop himself from smiling. His chakra canals burned with vacancy and he could feel his heart beat slowing. Despite all the painful sensations...he was happy.

He had done it; he had saved them all. No more bijuu or Akatsuki. No more human sacrifices to contain the bijuu. He had gotten to see Sakura one last time. God, she was beautiful. She was always so beautiful. Why had she chosen him?

"Naruto..." Sasuke's tired voice sounded from behind him and Naruto could tell they were facing in opposite directions, "What happened?"

Naruto's smile was gentle and his eyes enlightened; even with the life quickly draining out of him as fast as his chakra had, he eyes had not yet lost their glitter. He regretted not properly making amends with his first true friend. He regretted a lot of things. But that did nothing to quell the enigmatic feeling of relief that dulled his pain; the feeling of freedom that filled him when the Kyuubi left.

"You know...," Naruto wheezed to the boy who he knew was listening, "When I was...twelve...I hated the village..." talking hurt, but it was nice to perform his own eulogy. "I didn't understand why...why they hated me. But then...then I learned a-about the Kyuubi—heh—twelve years...of...of wondering and then...I find out. Ev-ver since then...it weighed on my conscience...what I kept inside me...what would happen if I...if I failed..."

He may not have acted like it, but he understood and accepted the responsibility of being a Jinchuuriki. He had carried that burden silently for years; it seemed only right that Sasuke would be the first he would admit it to, even if it wasn't quite face to face.

"I grew up...that night. I tried to...to be a kid...b-but my innocence...it was gone."

Sasuke had no idea what he was talking about, bringing up their gennin days of all things, but listened patiently. It wasn't like there was anything else he could do besides pass out. Though he did find it concerning with how much Naruto was struggling to speak; his own injured state had left him befuddled and unable to gauge what state of being Naruto was in. Maybe he should make the effort to roll over? But his eyelids were too heavy, his body too stiff...

"But now it's gone...it's over..." Naruto continued, now speaking more to himself than anything else. It didn't matter that instead of feeling cold he was enveloped with warmth. His body was shutting down and his heart ratting against his ribs like prison bars, but his eyes stayed opened and trained on the horizon, willing himself to see the light of this day—the twenty eighth of March—just once.

"It's over...it's over..."

How could he feel so good when he was in so much pain?

"I'm free..."

The first rays of that morning sun peaked over the horizon, nothing more than a golden streak to break through the other pastel colors, but it was enough for Naruto to feel the warm hand of light on his cold face.

"What the hell are you babbling about, dobe?" Sasuke mumbled, a little more blood dribbling out of his mouth, eyelids scrunching with genial annoyance and discomfort.

It took a while for Naruto to answer, and when he did he sounded breathless, almost relieved.

"...I feel like...I'm twelve again..."

An eerie silence fell over the two as those choked out six words replayed in Sasuke's head over and over again until he understood.

One pair of eyes finally opened as another slipped closed.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

HOT DAMN!

What? What?

Thank you **strider714** for the fixy fixy

Click the button down there and unleash your fury.


	30. Dual Beats

**Chapter 30**

"You bitch!"

Uchiha Madara was livid. There was simply no other word for it. In the bleak situation he had recently found himself in, the Kyuubi's power was the ace in the hole he had been depending on to turn the tables once it escaped the boy. And then that...that..._woman_ shows up out of nowhere and seemingly does the impossible: completely and totally obliterates the Kyuubi from existence! Now what did he have left? The triumphant cheers of his adversaries were becoming far too recurrent for his liking; Zetsu was already destroyed and Konan would soon follow under the combined efforts of the Kages.

He wanted to kill the wench who dared take away his trump card so suddenly, but the annoying Kages were blocking every attempt he made to reach her. Fending off the Otokage wasn't too much of a challenge for a supreme shinobi such as himself, but the latest added help of the Mizukage was slowly starting to wear him down.

Several meters away, Kagome remained motionless on her knees. Her bow lay forgotten on the rough platform she knelt on and her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, her shoulders shaking with open weeping.

She was a sitting duck, a perfect target. Even if Madara couldn't win this battle, at least tearing the woman's beating heart from her breast would give him momentary satisfaction. Then he would retreat; gain back strength, fight again another day to see the destruction of Konoha.

But first...

He closed his left eye and the Mangekyo Sharingan of his right spun as he completed hand seals known only to his clan.

"_Amaterasu!_"

The Mizukage was far enough out of Madara's sight to barely dodge the black flames that suddenly erupted from the Uchiha's mouth, though several burns now scarred his skin and clothing simply from being too close to the intense heat. Kabuto wasn't nearly so lucky. Being in the direct line of fire, his entire body disappeared for a handful of seconds as the attack washed over him; the flames said to be more powerful than the sun died down to reveal nothing, not even ashes.

The path was clear; Madara lunged at Kagome.

The woman hardly reacted to the incoming ninja; she was trapped in an internal prison of trauma over what she had done. A tiny part of her was aware of her own impending death but she couldn't find the will to do anything about it. She was completely overpowered here—fighting back wasn't even an option and even if she did have her wits about her she didn't have the speed to move in time. She would never see her mate or child or friends again. Maybe she deserved it, after what she had done. She kept her head bowed and gritted her teeth, accepting her fate.

Silence.

Nothing happened. Or maybe it had already happened? Slowly, dolefully, her head lifted and raised her eyes to the see the horizontal rays of the morning sunlight shadowed by a figure standing in front of her, holding her assailant back with a simple palm to the chest.

Madara's ruby eyes stared in undisguised shock directly back into pools of cold amber as one man stopped his momentum with a single hand. He hardly noticed the unusual hair color or dog ears; it felt like he couldn't move his eyes away from the piercing stare of his opposer.

To a bystander, it was simply a staring contest that continued for several long, tense seconds. It wasn't until the set of garnet eyes took on a glossy effect did it become evident that something more was going on. Madara's body fell gracefully back from the hand that was placed gently against his chest, with only a small dot of blood staining his clothes where the palm had been.

The small thud of the body hitting rocks jerked Kagome out of her stupor. Her husband turned around and she didn't think to ask how he got there or when or what he had done. Instead she shakily forced her legs to stand and staggered forwards, collapsing into the man's arms.

"In—Inu—yasha—," she choked as words escaped her in her anguish "I—I—he's..."

Her hands were trembling horribly, the same hands that had taken the life of her surrogate son. Her mate should be disgusted with her; she was disgusted with herself.

"Shhh," he soothed, holding her close to him, not needing her words to understand what she was trying to say. "Where is he?"

She shook her head and pointed out to the far end of the battle field. While no sign of the blonde was revealed, it did draw his attention to the pink-haired young woman who was limping hurriedly to the deep crevice in the land. He tuned into his surroundings, taking note of the four men in long robes, battling a blue haired woman and a blue skinned man. A plant-like man lay on the ground releasing a thin green fluid, a silver-haired man was also on the ground, being tended to by a dark-haired boy.

"Come on," he mumbled before scooping Kagome up in his arms and jumping the distance in one huge leap. He landed beside the girl he saw—Sakura was her name, he recalled—who released a loud shriek and fell over at his sudden appearance. He could see a profuse amount of blood covering her damaged leg and she was shaking nearly as bad as Kagome. Her bottom lip was trembling uncontrollably, giving her a childish appearance in her effort not to cry.

"I-Inuyasha-san?" she gasped, her eyes wide.

Sakura immediately noticed the unfamiliar but pretty woman in his arms and recognized her as the same woman who shot the arrow. It was the very same woman had shot Naruto...but she appeared to be as hysterical as Sakura felt. The rosette managed to remember their reactions before she irrationally jumped to conclusions—Naruto was asking to be shot, the woman appeared extremely reluctant. There was no ill will tied to the attack on his seal; it was purely out of necessity.

Of course anyone could see that the seal was about to snap; the Kyuubi had manifested itself before them all and was clearly intent on freeing itself to wreak destruction and devastation. By all rights she should be thanking the stranger. Still...

She shook her head, clearing the negative thoughts that were clouding her main objective.

"Inuyasha-san, please," she pleaded with a hint of urgency, "take me down there!"

She couldn't make the jump in her condition and the sides of the ravine were too wet and slippery. The man nodded solemnly. He released his hold on the other woman's legs, keeping his left arm wrapped around the thin waist, and scooped his right arm around Sakura's own waist.

"Hold on," he said as an only warning before jumping down into the dark chasm with a girl in each arm.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Sasuke struggled with a stimulating panic at the sudden silence that had befallen them. It had taken a while, but his new, unsettling motivation gave him the incentive to endure the effort and pain necessary to shift himself onto his back. He still couldn't move his neck—he must have done something to his spine—and his eyes watered through the intense burning of being open again. But through all this he continued to strain his eyes against the very corners of their sockets, squinting against the newest rays of dawn to make out the shadowed outline of his friend's broad back. There was no movement that would suggest breathing; in fact the figure held the unnatural and eerie stillness associated with death.

"Naruto?" he whispered. No response. The boy's chakra signature had disappeared much like his brother's had—though he was hoping it was only because of his own poor condition that he wasn't sensing it.

"Naruto?" he tried again. The panic within him welled, feeding off of the suffocating reality of the situation coupled with his own helplessness, "Naruto! NA—"

He broke off into a new round of coughs; each harsh jar thrust against his body brought more pain. He groaned, knowing he was going to pass out soon, but refusing to do so until Naruto reacted. He had to react. He _had_ to.

Two feet landed heavily besides his head, squelching loudly in the wet moss and causing his body to jerk uncomfortably. Two other pair soon followed. He flicked his eyes upwards to see three individuals standing overhead. Only one he recognized as Sakura, the other female was completely foreign to him. The man, on the other hand, looked aggravatingly familiar. The light of the sun made the unruly hair glint like silver and the amber irises reflected down on him, briefly acknowledging his presence. The facial features were so familiar to him, as was the stance and power...

Where had he seen this man before?

"Ah Sasuke," the new arrival spoke, and the voice triggered the desired memory.

"_If you ever meet me again, chances are it won't be good circumstances"_

Ah yes, the pirate...

"Naruto!" his teammate shrieked and bumbled out of his limited vision. The other woman struggled to follow, screaming the blonde's name as well, but was held tightly in the arms of the man. It took a while, but after a bit of struggling she eventually calmed down and sagged against the other body, silent tears streaming down her face.

Sakura hardly spared Sasuke a second glance, the second her feet touched the ground and she locked her eyes on Naruto's form everything else disappeared from her mind. She all but threw herself to her knees when she reached him and, as gently as she could, pulled his shoulder down so that he was lying on his back. His face suggested that he was at peace with his lips slightly parted and his brow relaxed.

"Naruto," she croaked out, leaning so close over his body that she might as well have been laying on top of him. Her hands were all over his face, pushing back his hair and stroking the usually responsive whiskers. Her efforts brought nothing. She didn't even need to check for vitals, her skills as a medic were strong enough to tell her that nothing was moving within his body—not his heart, not his blood, and not his chakra.

"Naruto," she whispered to his ear again, her features coming off as calm and loving as she repeatedly patted his hair, "Please come back to me...you promised, remember? What happened to your nindo, you big dope?"

She tried to smile lightly, tried to not make this any worse than it was, but the truth was more powerful than her denial, especially when it was lying right in her hands. Her smile turned into clenched teeth and she was forced to squeeze her eyes shut to hold back her tears.

"Please wake up..." her voice cracked and she was reduced to whimpering, "please...please don't leave me again..."

She pressed her lips forcefully against his, but there was no warmth, no returned pressure, no playful nips and shy licks. She was persistent, pecking him again and again, demanding that something, anything, happen.

"Please wake up," kiss, "_please_," kiss, "Naruto..." kiss, "...please..." kiss, "I can't..." kiss, "Not without you..."

The medic in her demanded that she heal Sasuke, that he still had a chance if she put the effort in and that Naruto was simply a lost cause—dead. But the woman in her refused to accept that the coldness in the boy's skin was from death, and that his unresponsiveness to her kisses was because he couldn't feel them. Her shattered heart overrode every logical command in her mind and she selfishly buried her face into his cold neck and allowed her body to convulse atop his chest as she gave into the overwhelming pressure to cry.

Through all the harsh rejections and cruel words Sasuke had subjected her to back in her delicate years as a preteen, through all the bullying and insecurities of her childhood, nothing compared to how much grief and heartache she suffered at Naruto's unintentional hands. And yet, she didn't think that she could possibly love him any more.

Kagome fit against Inuyasha's side, needing to go over and cradle the lifeless body in her arms and apologize over and over again, but accepting that Sakura needed her moment with him the most. It was truly a heartbreaking scene, to witness such a young and beautiful love torn apart so violently.

And she was the cause of it.

Inuyasha looked down at his tormented mate and cursed the PTB once more. He could see that the guilt was tearing her apart; it was literally killing her and their unborn pup—as if he hadn't lost enough already.

He tried to hold up a strong front for Kagome's sake; judging by the fact that she could barely stand on her own two feet, it was clear that she needed all the stability she could get. But, at the same time, he was suffering his own inner turmoil. He knew and understood the PTB's reasons, hell he may have even agreed with them if it didn't have to involve _his_ family. It was _always_ his family. After the Braeden ordeal at the turn of the millennium, he didn't think he could bear to lose any more children.

He pulled Kagome closer to his chest in an unconscious attempt to muffle his breaking heart.

His back straightened. His ears twitched.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

The Tsuchikage pulled his Nodachi from the slain body of the missing shark-nin; bluish blood stained the steel of his inherited patrimony. That was the last of the opponents. The woman and the plant were long dead, Pein was killed by Madara and then Madara was killed by the newcomer.

The wizened man sighed and glanced over in the direction of the ravine. There was no way the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki could survive the fall, not after being struck by a spiritual arrow and having his bijuu torn away. It was just one more thing he had to respect Uzumaki Naruto for.

Iwagakure had never really been on good terms with Konoha—especially after the last Great Ninja War when the fabled Yellow Flash had decimated their forces—so being forced to call a temporary truce with them in light of the Akatsuki situation did not sit well with the leader of the rock.

When the tiny slug first appeared in his office by rising from the wood of his desk, he knew instantly who it was from—after all, there was really only one renowned slug summoner. Hearing its message relayed, one that requested the back up of his ninjas in order to support the sudden battle that had broken out over the plains of Amegakure, had left him with little more than a few options in mind. The first of which, was to ignore it just the spite Konoha. The plains were far enough away to make it a burdensome journey for his ninja and the loss of a few Konoha ninja wouldn't do anything to hurt Rock's economy. Then again, sending aid may have mended the tremulous relations with their former rival village, but the chances of any of his troops surviving would have been limited.

However, the slug then went on to say that the battle was comprised between the Wind Runner and the Akatsuki—so it wasn't to aid Konoha but the Wind Runner.

That was a whole different story entirely.

Initially, he had not known that the boy was bred from Konoha. The young man bore no hitai-ate, showed up out of nowhere and, with unimaginable feats, took out whichever bijuu was attacking before disappearing, seeking neither praise nor benefit. He quickly became a phantom hero. When the name 'Wind Runner' was mentioned, no one thought 'Konoha' directly afterward as one might do with the names 'The Professor' and 'The Copy-Cat Ninja'. It was said often that the Wind Runner belonged to the world, and it was true. Konoha didn't get any of the credit for producing the Wind Runner, since the boy didn't fight on Konoha's orders or in Konoha's name. He traveled the world, free of any prejudice or stigmas, and rescued those that he didn't even know, regardless of their past actions. If they were human, he protected them, no questions asked. He was their savior.

The feelings of gratitude and debt he held for the Wind Runner was not something he could pawn off on one of his subordinates. Leaving his most trusted advisors in command, he took off by way of an earth jutsu that allowed him to travel at high speeds. Imagine his surprise when he arrived to see that he wasn't the only one with such an idea.

Releasing another haggard sigh, the Tsuchikage pulled off his hat and wiped his brow. What a way to start off the day...

"Is Uzumaki-sama...?" the Raikage let the question hang in the air as he approached the hatless Kage. Though anyone who was watching when the seal broke (and that was everyone) already knew of the boy's fate.

Nevertheless, the Tsuchikage shook his head and wearily replied, "He didn't make it. What is the status of the others?"

"The Otokage was killed by Uchiha Madara. Hatake Kakashi has a broken spine, the Konoha ANBU appears to be injured but nothing life threatening. The Mizukage and Kazekage are both fine."

Speaking of which, the two other village leaders approached with much poise, looking as though they had not just battled with a group of S-class missing-nin—ignored the stained and roughed clothing.

"Who was that man? The one who killed Uchiha with just his hand? Did you see that?" the Mizukage asked each question while looking over his shoulder at the lifeless body of Madara. The answer escaped all of them.

"He couldn't have been an enemy to the Wind Runner," the Tsuchikage concluded, "after all, he did bring the Hokage's apprentice to the boy's body."

He received a short round of agreeing murmurs for his theory.

"I am going to pay my respects to him as well," Gaara declared monotonously as he began to walk towards the crag of the canyon. "I believe a service in his honor should be held."

"I second that," the Raikage answered and made to follow.

"As do I."

"And me, also."

The Tsuchikage was the last in the line that lead to the mourning site of a legend. He paused in his step as he heard something.

"Did you feel that?" the Raikage asked; he too had stopped.

"I heard something," the Tsuchikage insisted. It happened again. The Mizukage and Kazekage froze, raising their senses to better understand what was happening.

"I heard it again," the Tsuchikage said and carefully got down on his knees, "from down here."

The Kazekage crouched down as well and gingerly touched his fingers to the ground, closing his eyes in concentration.

"Something is stirring the sand within the rocks," he announced softly. Indeed, the sand was shifting every so often to a steady, but familiar, rhythm.

The Tsuchikage slowly put his ear to the ground, ignoring how uncouth it may have come off as, after hearing the noise again.

**BA-DUM**...**BA-DUM**...

His eyes widened and he pressed his ear further into the earth to ensure he wasn't hallucinating. With each pound that reverberated from within the ground a strong presence would strike and restrict. Like something was being pumped from beneath the Earth.

**BA-DUM**...**BA-DUM**...**BA-DUM**...

"I don't believe it..." he gasped to the others, "It sounds like a...a heartbeat..."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Being in her mate's arms had calmed Kagome down considerably—though, by all means, she was still devastated. The hysteria had ultimately dwindled down only to leave her feeling cold and hollow. Her thoughts were centered on Naruto and his tragic death by her own arrow, and no matter how hard she tried to erase that resigned, tired look on his face she couldn't seem to shake it from her mind's eye. It was a picture she was sure was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. It wasn't until the wildly beating heart of her husband came to her attention did she focus on something else. With her head resting on his chest, it was hard not to notice the unnaturally quickened pace of the organ thudding against its keep.

"Inuyasha..." she uttered in an undertone. She looked up to his face which was set straight; his eyes were slightly widened, glancing in all directions and his ears swiveling every which way. It was obvious that he was no longer focused on the broken couple before them. She placed a hand on his cheek for his attention, "What's wrong?"

"Shhh...do you feel that?" it was all he could say on the matter; he didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Feel what?" the pulse of a powerful presence surrounded them for a second and then vanished. "...oh."

A loud crack echoed between the limited space between each ravine wall, drawing the attention of everyone. Even Sakura had lifted herself from her boyfriend's unmoving torso in alarm.

"What was that?" she sniffled, wiping against her tear-streaked cheeks. Another crack sounded and this time everyone caught it: right along the damp rock face a fracture had appeared. Then another, and another. Each new split appeared longer in length and traveled closer to the bottom of the ravine, all the while emerging at the same steady pace.

"Is this going to cave in?" Kagome asked fearfully, clutching tighter to her husband's shirt.

"No," Inuyasha said with a small, but growing, grin, "you need to feel it, and you'll know."

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to do as her husband suggested. She heard another crack, but at the same time the pulse of the powerful presence felt closer, stronger, and even tangible. She could practically see it.

Opening her eyes she realized that she _could_ see it. The cracks would light up with a faint, blue glow with each rhythmic pounding.

The cracks had reached the ground now, running along the moist soil between their feet. The heated glow warmed her and every time it died down she felt lost. The series of cracks pulsed along the floor of the ravine; the moss beneath their feet began to grow long spores, tiny vines danced along the rocks, leaves unfurling.

The phenomena ran under Sasuke and suddenly he was filled with a brief energy. His body was still injured, but he didn't feel the overwhelming need to pass out. This energy...where was it coming from? It felt so familiar...

Sakura sat back on her knees quickly when the next crack ran right towards her, disappearing underneath the corpse she was previously embracing. She got ready to stand on her feet, preparing for when the next crack would come. When the next surge of energy pulsed, no crack came forth. Instead Naruto's body gave a light jerk, causing both Sakura and Kagome to scream.

"What's happening," Sakura cried fearfully. She reached a hand tentatively towards Naruto. Another pulse and Naruto's torso jumped from its resting place, causing her to retract it quickly with a small squeak.

"Sakura," Inuyasha said evenly, taking a few steps forward and leading Kagome along with him. "Use a medical technique to check the status of his chakra."

Naruto's body jerked again and she bit her lip, but did as he told, placing her green hued hands over his chest.

At first she felt nothing; the sizable canals were as empty as any corpse would be. She opened her mouth to tell him such when the next pulse hit right on time. The torso beneath her palms warmed for a brief moment before returning to a dead state, but it was enough to capture her attention.

"Well...?" Kagome prompted. The attitude of her husband and the strange but comforting aura pulsing around them was enough to calm her tears. She was now waiting anxiously to hear from the girl what Inuyasha had already suspected.

Sakura didn't answer at first; she was enthralled with the pattern she had learned of. It went against anything she was taught but...each pulse of energy that struck his body would flood his canals before dying down and draining them.

"It's...whatever this is...it's like it's defibrillating him..." she shakily told them to the best of her ability. What did this mean? Was something trying to shock him back to life? But that was impossible once someone's been dead for too long.

"Wait a minute," Kagome whispered as understanding finally dawning on her. The only reason it had taken so long for her to figure it out was because she had never encountered it before, "Then this...this power is..."

"Gaia," Inuyasha finished for her. Sakura stared at the couple, the name sounding familiar to her. Inuyasha noticed her perplexed look and explained, "The Earth's life force, more or less."

The body underneath her hands jerked once more.

"So then before, when Naruto was fighting the bijuu..." she mumbled, thinking back to the beautiful light that led her to him—it seemed a lifetime ago. The pulsing glow emitting from the Earth's crust was very familiar in that sense.

Inuyasha nodded. The next pitch somehow seemed stronger when it forced itself into Naruto's body and this time a tiny bit of residue lingered.

"I—I think it's working..." Sakura gasped breathlessly. The residue began to build upon itself over time; slowly but surely, the 'heartbeat' of the Earth filled Naruto's chakra canals. Though she was witnessing a miracle she couldn't help but feel disappointed as she noticed something.

"His heart still isn't beating," she mumbled worriedly. It wasn't fair to get her hopes up over nothing. So what if Gaia refilled his chakra pathways? It wasn't as though the chakra was flowing. It was too late. He had to have been dead for over ten minutes by now. She bit her lip as desolation doused the tiny flame of hope that had been alight for those brief few moments.

"It's...it's no use," she began to weep. "Once a-gain I was useless to him!"

A tear dripped off of her quivering chin and disappeared within the fabric of his shirt, darkening a spot right over his heart.

As if in response to her declaration, another insistent shock passed through, this time powerful enough to be seen. The veins beneath his paled skin lit up with the power the Earth had to offer; his back arched and his mouth opened from the force as air was forced back into his lungs.

The pulse of Gaia now had another that beat along with it; Sakura could feel it beneath her hands. It was soft, faint, but there. A heartbeat.

Naruto's chest began a slow pace of rising and falling that caused the two women to break out in fresh cries. Kagome pushed away from Inuyasha and fell to the other side of the now slumbering boy.

"He's alive!" Sakura blubbered, dispelling the healing chakra from her hands and hugging her arms around the neck that was slowly regaining its color. His skin was warming; against her cheek she could feel light puffs of air that had escaped those parted lips.

Kagome had herself hunched over the pair, one hand gripping Naruto's lax one, another covering her own mouth as she cried into it. Her tears were solely from relief. The most terrifying time of her young life had passed—she _never_ wanted to feel that kind of grief _ever_ again. She still couldn't stop shaking from the scare.

"N-Naruto? Is he...is he alive?" Sasuke mumbled, trying to discern what he could from the commotion and wishing he could turn his head and see for himself. But the unmistakable presence of the blonde knucklehead suddenly reappeared next to him and he knew the answer. "How is that even possible?"

Inuyasha's head popped overhead into view once more, "My guess is that the Earth wasn't done with its avatar."

Sasuke blinked up at him; the statement made no sense. It didn't matter, Naruto was alive, and once his body was healed he could properly beat the crap out of the dobe for putting him through that. He grinned tiredly to himself at the thought, and as he smiled another humorous, if not slightly ironical thought passed his mind.

"Oi, Sakura..." he called over to where he knew she was fawning over the last member of the original team seven.

"Hm?" she didn't lift herself from the warmth Naruto could now provide her. She was inhaling his scent, relishing in every little facet about him that pointed to life.

"Happy birthday."

Sakura reluctantly pulled herself off of Naruto and looked over at the last Uchiha in bemusement. His eyes were closed again, it must have been too hard for him to keep them open so long in his condition, but his pale lips were half-cocked in a smirk. She could feel the corners of her own tugging for a laugh.

"Uchiha-san! Haruno-san!"

She snapped her head up to the top of the ravine, barely making out the figures crowding around the edges. They looked little more than black shapes bobbing along the cliffs. The shapes grew bigger as a moderate number of ninja bounded down the slippery sides of the ravine, eventually all landing gracefully around the crowd of people.

"A medical team?" the pink-haired woman questioned lowly, recognizing many of them from Konoha. A jounin stepped forward from the pack and bowed, behind him his squad had already begun to stabilize Sasuke and load him onto a stretcher.

"Hatake-san had sent his summon Pakkun quite a while ago requesting us. I apologize for our late arrival."

Sakura waved off the apology, not wanting to divert her attention from her man for longer than she had to. She continually caressed his face lovingly; trying not to think of what almost was and instead focused on now. As far as she was concerned, nothing could bring her down from the extreme feelings of solace and love that overflowed in her heart—so extreme that it nearly hurt.

After securing the two boys on stretchers and healing Sakura's leg to the point where she insisted she was well enough to travel, the team of medics along with their charges and the Nagasaki's returned to the higher elevation of the plains, where the Kages had chosen to remain patiently in light of the extraordinary events.

Gaara was the first to rush to Naruto's stretcher, blinking his pale green eyes rapidly to confirm that he was not delirious and that his old friend was indeed breathing.

"How can this be?" he wondered, his fingers tracing the underline of Naruto's jaw to confirm a pulse. Being a Jinchuuriki once himself, he knew that it wasn't possible for a Jinchuuriki to survive once its bijuu was removed.

Sakura smiled tiredly from the other side of the stretcher.

"Apparently it was Gaia," she answered, and shrugged when Gaara looked at her strangely.

"You mean to say, that Gaia was the heartbeat from the ground?" the Raikage gasped. Looking between his feet to where the now lifeless cracks were left over.

The measured scuffing of feet alerted their attention to Sai, who was slowly making his way over with Kakashi resting on his back.

"Naruto-kun is okay?" he asked with a true smile on his face. Sakura nodded enthusiastically, gently holding said young man's hand with her own, relishing in its warmth.

"We need to get Uchiha-san, Hatake-san and Uzumaki-san to the hospital," the medical squad leader announced. There was some shuffling as everyone prepared to take off; Inuyasha lowered himself so that Kagome could climb onto his back. Before leaving, Sakura and Sai—the only ones of the original defense against the Akatsuki who could stand—both bowed to the assembled Kages.

"Thank you so much for aiding us," Sakura expressed her gratitude, "Akatsuki would have never been defeated without you."

"Konoha is in your debt," Sai added, careful not to bow too low lest his baggage fell off him.

"No," the Kazekage delivered on behalf of his associates, "we were just repaying ours...to him."

This Mizukage nodded in approval towards Naruto's supine form, "Please, tell Naruto-sama to get in touch with me when he wakes up—there is much I'd like to discuss with him."

"Please do the same for me," the Raikage added, "I believe both our villages can benefit from these turn of events."

With the promise to do so and a last goodbye, the gathering parted ways. The Tsuchikage smiled as he watched the medics carry the injured group back to Konoha, his eyes lingering on the formerly dead hero.

This day would go down in history, become a part of every academy lesson plan. It was the day the bijuu were expunged from the Earth. The day one of the most famed group of terrorists was destroyed. The day that one boy inadvertently brought five warring nations together, and brought forth a new era of peace.

"Tsunade," he said humorously to his self, "if you don't make that boy the next Hokage...you are one dumb bitch."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

:3

See? I'm not so evil! I really am not an angst writer, so leaving the story on such a sad note just wouldn't do for me. Though I hope his resurrection was satisfactory.

Now all that's ahead is love!

Muah!

Muchos Thankos to **strider174** for correcting the correctable.

Now sing for me! O


	31. Holistic Healing

**Chapter 31**

"Are you effing shitting me?!"

Harry fell back heavily against the headrest of Bridget's bed; his jaw worked soundlessly as he tried to digest everything he had just been told. He had woken up only an hour ago and since then been informed of what had transpired in Amegakure since his summon was released. Naruto summoning Kagome...Kagome _shooting_ Naruto...Naruto _dying_...Naruto coming back to life via _Gaia_...

"I can't believe it."

"Believe it," Inuyasha replied dryly, smiling a little at the same catch phrase Naruto used to utter. Now that he thought about it, he really should to get back to Konoha and check up on the boy. That and he left his wife there.

"No, I can't believe you used _neco!_" Harry retorted in disbelief, "Doesn't it take like...a decade off your life just for using it once?"

Inuyasha squinted up at the ceiling and scratched his ear absently, thinking back to the technique he used to kill Madara. The _neco_ spell was one of the more risky blood magic spells, an execution one to be more precise. It drained the blood from the heart of its target, pulling it straight through the chest and out of the body, taking the life of its victim as in the process. Seeing Kagome in danger like that managed to bring back reflexes he hadn't used since his younger days. That particular spell was thrust to the forefront of his mind and he spared no other thought before using it. Extracting the life from someone often came with consequences, and _neco_ was no exception. Fortunately, it was typical for more tainted souls to become generally weaker, consequently making them easier to remove from the body. The Uchiha clan's madness was one of their greatest faults.

"A few years is hardly going to put a dent in my lifetime," he assured his apprentice. Harry nodded rather apathetically in contrast to his earlier outburst.

"True enough."

"And Kagome hears nothing about it," Inuyasha ordered as an afterthought, "She's already under enough stress as it is with what she had to do this morning."

Instead of falling back into a somber mood from the mention of the horrible events he missed out on, Harry snickered immaturely.

"I can't believe you got her pregnant again."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "You can't? I thought that was my job?"

"Ha!"

"Kagome never hears that either. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good."

"Hey Dad!" The two men turned to the bedroom door, where Bridget was leaning against the frame, arms crossed and expression bordering on annoyance, "You've had him for the last hour, go back to Naruto and Kagome."

"..."

"...Please?"

Finally conceding to her wishes, Inuyasha stood from her vanity chair he was sitting on and straightened out his clothes to a more presentable state.

"Behave," he commanded, planting a small kiss on her forehead before leaving the pair to enjoy each other's company.

After shutting the door quietly behind him, Bridget wasted no time in sauntering up to the side of her bed to lean over her man. The top few buttons of her shirt were undone, giving him a clear view of her cleavage.

"Is this your idea of behaving, Ms. Nagasaki?" Harry quipped with a slight leer, sneaking an arm around her back and hoisting her onto his lap. Bridget squealed and giggled at his actions, shifting around to straddle him and bringing her grinning face inches from his own.

"I was counting on you to keep me in line, Mr. Potter," she whispered against his mouth before kissing him deeply. She had missed him so much; before her short visit with her father, the few months he had been traveling in the ninja world were the longest she could ever remember being separated from him.

He wrapped his arms around her back, running his fingers through the thick, black curls that usually rested there.

"I missed you," she sighed, burying her nose into his chest and inhaling his scent, grateful that he no longer carried the overwhelming tang of blood. "How are you feeling?"

"Mmm..." Harry slid down a little against the head rest, "I'm still a little tired."

Bridget looked out her window, seeing only her reflection against the night sky. The sun had only set a few hours ago, but it had been a rather emotional day for everyone. Perhaps the time for fooling around could wait.

"Well, that's to be expected. You did just fight three bijuu with Naruto." She climbed off his body and, instead of getting off the bed, decided to wiggle down under the covers until she found a nice snug position curled against Harry's side with her head happily rested on his chest.

"Lay off the hunting for a while for me, okay?" she mumbled, enjoying his scent again.

"Okay."

He wrapped an arm around her, smiling in content. Another ridiculous adventure had come to an end in his life and, if the usual pattern served him correctly, he was due for another prolonged period of boring peace. Though it was hard to imagine what could possibly come next after having to deal with the millennium war, and now this...

But as Bridget snuggled a little close, the soft skin of her hand rubbing lightly against his bare chest, Harry found these thoughts rapidly vanishing from his mind. If this was what peace entailed, then peace was just perfectly fine with him.

The bed jiggled and the couple soon found a third body squirming its way under the covers, kicking and writhing until it was nestled snuggly between the two larger bodies.

"Caleb, what do you think you're doing?"

"Night, night."

"...Dad sent you, didn't he?"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Sakura shifted her shoulder so that metal bars of the hospital chair no longer dug into the sore area. The air was sterile and the white of the walls blinded her, the only noise that could be heard was the steady beeping of the heart monitor. It had been a full day since they arrived back in Konoha. She woke up in her own hospital room that morning, decided she was well enough to heal in her own good time, and checked herself out to spend the rest of her time with Naruto, waiting for him to awaken.

Naruto may have regained his life, but the injuries he sustained throughout the battle were enough to keep him in his small coma for the time being. She briefly spoke with Tsunade when she checked out; the woman had been the one to heal Naruto and was absolutely amazed with the turn of events regarding his recovery. If she knew her master, the Sannin was in her private study this very moment, pouring over medical books to help explain the phenomena in terms better suited for a medic.

Sighing with boredom, Sakura took a moment to look around the room for the umpteenth time; there were stacks of gifts, flowers and cards lining the walls and collecting in corners. In all her years working at the hospital, she had never seen a patient receive this much stuff. She knew Naruto would go ballistic when he woke up to the amount of recognition he was receiving from the village now.

By twenty four hours, news of the battle had, of course, reached the public. And not just in Konoha. The Kages who had come to aid them had released accounts of the events to their own villages. Nearly everyone in the world was aware of what happened on the plains of Amegakure. Now that it was common knowledge of where the Wind Runner resided, Konoha had been on the receiving end of endless posts ranging from general inquiries about Naruto's health status to marriage proposals from Lords and nobility.

A small grimace tugged on Sakura's lips at the thought of Naruto getting betrothed to some rich hussy for ridiculous political reasons. Tsunade-shishou would never do that to her.

Right?

She shook her head, trying to oust the absurd thoughts. Of course she wouldn't, everyone knew Naruto was hers now.

_Hers..._

She bit her lip at the possessive term and grinned, leaning closer to the sleeping boy's face. Her master speculated that he would be waking up tomorrow, if not later today. His wounds were healing as though he still harbored the Kyuubi, something that both baffled and amazed her. She was sure Naruto would be able to explain it to her once he regained consciousness, if not him then Inuyasha at least.

To her knowledge, Inuyasha wasn't in Konoha at the moment. Before she was brought to the hospital yesterday afternoon she recalled the silver-haired man announcing that he was going to leave Kagome at Naruto's apartment so that she could sleep. Shortly thereafter, her master informed her that Inuyasha had gone back to his world to check up on Harry.

Another thing that had to be explained to her was the summoning scroll. She spent the better part of the journey back to Konoha badgering the hanyou to explain the mechanics of developing their own brand of summoning—with the rest of their assembled crew listening intently. She knew Naruto had been up to a lot while he was gone, but after learning of his method of traveling between worlds she realized she had barely scratched the surface on his accomplishments.

A light knocking had her sitting up straighter in her chair. The door slid open and the dark-haired woman known as Kagome cautiously entered the room.

"Oh," she said pleasantly once she spotted Sakura, "Hello. I didn't know if anyone else would be visiting or not. Do you mind if I join you?"

Sakura was caught off guard for a moment, not expecting anyone else to show up for a while, "Uh, no, not at all."

"Thanks!" another chair was pulled from against the wall and dragged to the bedside, "So, how is your leg holding up?"

"It's fine, thank you," Sakura replied cordially, scooting her chair over so that Kagome could sit close to Naruto as well.

"I'm Kagome, by the way. I know we've never been properly introduced. And I'm betting that you're Sakura."

Sakura smiled, a feeling of repose settled over her, "Yeah, I am. How did you know?"

Kagome laughed delicately and Sakura found the sound agreeable, "With how much Naruto would talk about you when he first came to us? How could I not!"

Sakura felt herself blush, feeling very pleased by the statement. She loved any type of attention she got from Naruto, even if she wasn't around to enjoy it. She looked back at the man she treasured and something warmed within her. The morning light played of his features, making him look softer and vulnerable in a way that had her wanting to cuddle him to death. His face was completely devoid of any pain, just how it always should be.

Kagome had to smile at the gentle way Sakura held Naruto in her gaze. She was glad her little blonde hanyou had found someone who would take care of him. It would make leaving here all the more easier for her now that she knew he was in good hands.

"So...you're Inuyasha's wife?"

Kagome saw that Sakura was now pointing at the ring on her finger; it was a beautiful diamond imbedded in gold from the human wedding her mother insisted on having. She chucked quietly to herself, turning the ring around the appendage to loosen it from the skin underneath; the weather in Konoha was much warmer than she was used to for this time of year. Naturally, the ring was beautiful, but it meant nothing to her when she shared a bond stronger than matrimony.

"I'm his mate."

Sakura turned her head in her direction, thinking it was a strange term to use.

"What's the difference?"

"What's the difference?" Kagome repeated; for some reason the older woman seemed very amused by the question, "Sakura, if you're really serious about being with Naruto, then that is something you should find out."

It was clear that she had captured the young woman's attention with the words "being with Naruto" so she decided to educate her.

"When two people get married, it's really just a document that the government recognizes and a set of unspoken rules. There's nothing tangible about the bond unless you count love."

"And with mates?" Sakura impelled, already knowing that information.

"When a demon takes a mate, even one that's hanyou, their souls are bound together. It's a bond that could be considered stronger than love even; it's instinct. And in my case, as a human who was chosen as Inuyasha's mate, I now have increased longevity, extremely slowed aging, and I'm even more powerful in terms of my priestess abilities to bring me up to his status."

Kagome thought back to the night she was marked, unaware her fingers were tracing her collarbone through her shirt as she spoke.

"You become more in tune with each other, understanding each other's needs without the use of words, knowing when the other is hurt or excited without even having to look at them."

She snapped out of her daze of commemoration and realized that Sakura looked as if she were hardly paying attention anymore. The girl had sparkles in her eyes absently stroking one of Naruto's hands as she was lost to her own daydreams.

"That sounds so romantic!" the younger gushed. She couldn't help it; some portion of her twelve-year-old self would always remain a part of her, furthermore, she would love to have that kind of bond with Naruto—that way she could always protect him emotionally if all else fails. Kagome smiled briefly at her praise.

"Well there are consequences," she warned, "If a mate should die long before the other, then the bond will slowly drive the living mate insane. Often to the point of suicide. That's why Inuyasha refused to take me as his mate until after the war..."

Sakura keenly noticed that her elder was fingering her neckline again.

"Is there something wrong with your neck?" she asked, gesturing to where Kagome's now idle fingers rested. "You know, I am a trained medic if you need anything."

Kagome stared back in confusion, before noticing what she was doing and laughed.

"Oh, no!" she assured her, "It's just all this talk of mates has me thinking of my own mark."

"Mark?"

Wordlessly, long, slender fingers pulled down on the collar of a navy blue ruched shirt, revealing the slight jut of a collarbone and two dot-like tattoos within the hallow. Sakura leaned forward in her chair, her mouth slightly ajar as she scrutinized the tiny marking; a plain representation of teeth marks.

"Wow," she sat back in her seat, amazed that something so tiny could create such a powerful bond, "How do you get it?"

"During sex," was the blunt reply. Suddenly Kagome seemed a lot more like her husband than her original impression would insinuate.

"O-oh," Sakura squeaked, temporarily blindsided by the answer. She was blushing fiercely—not at the mark itself, but at what it represented. It made her think back to all she had done with her boyfriend; that time in the closet, what she almost did in return, when she touched him through his pants, or what it could have led to if he didn't have that meeting with her master. Her eyes surreptitiously flicked over the sheet-covered body in front of her. She felt the swift impulse to touch his whiskers, if only to watch the way his back would arch and hear the noises that would come out of his mouth and enjoy the wanton faces of ecstasy he would make. Her mind was suddenly a flurry of Naruto and sex...and sex and Naruto...and sex _with_ Naruto...

She jumped when she felt a hand patting down the hair on the back of her head; she glanced guiltily over at Kagome, unable to shake the feeling that her inappropriate thoughts were somehow projected.

"But most importantly, Sakura, if you're going to be with him you have to acknowledge that he is not a human."

Sakura, who had been slowly coming to terms with the fact over the last two years ever since Inuyasha explained it, immediately felt the need to protest, "I know—"

"I know you know, but you must acknowledge it," Kagome insisted, not taking any interruptions, "I know this because it was one of the biggest obstacles between me and Inuyasha for the longest time. We got in so many fights when we were younger because we couldn't understand each other. Just please realize that his mind won't process things like ours does. Certain situations will have different meaning to him. He might find things threatening that would seem harmless to you, or he might not understand certain emotions that are foreign to demons, that you grew up with. Do you understand?"

"But...he's still Naruto..." Sakura looked down into her lap. Truth be told, she hadn't given any thought to the complications that might arise between her and Naruto. So far, his lack of humanity hadn't even come to her attention in terms of relationships. "How will I know everything he knows? How will I understand him, if we're not thinking alike?"

"Time," Kagome answered simply, "learn together and let this bring you closer. Remember, it's all about the journey, not the destination...or whatever that crap was."

Sakura giggled and a thought came to her.

"Wait a minute...if the Kyuubi was removed...and Gaia refilled his chakra reserves...wouldn't that make him human again?"

"No."

The two girls twisted in their seats to see Inuyasha standing behind them.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome jumped from her chair and threw her arms around his neck. Inuyasha caught her with a wide grin and kissed her lips.

"Miss me?"

"Well, you left me all alone in a strange world," Kagome replied sounding a little peeved, "How's Harry?"

"He's fine. Awake. Biddy's with him, and so is Caleb."

"Um, excuse me," Sakura broke through hesitantly, not entirely comfortable interrupting their conversation, "but why isn't Naruto human again?"

"Being a demon isn't a disease, it's not something he can 'get better' from," Inuyasha said while shaking his head. He released his mate's waist and moved to the other side of the bed, "It's in his DNA to be hanyou, it was evolution that turned him like this. When Gaia replenished his reserves, his chakra rehabilitated itself to his DNA. He's still demonic, with all the benefits and drawbacks that comes with it. I hope that's not a problem for you..."

Sakura shook her head vigorously and Inuyasha smiled. She saw his eyes shift down to Naruto and for once it wasn't one of his all-knowing smiles. She thought he looked a little paler than she remembered and she could have sworn she saw his hand shaking a little as it ran through the long, messy locks of the sleeping boy.

The rosette gasped loudly when she realized the boy _wasn't_ sleeping. Murky blue eyes were squinting foggily up at the small crowd of people around his bed as Naruto breached a state of consciousness.

She stood up so fast her that chair was knocked backwards off its feet.

"_Naruto!_"

Naruto had no idea where he was or what was going on when a warm body was heavily thrown on top of his own, crunching against sore ribs. He grunted uncomfortably and closed his eyes as he wracked his brain for some sort of solution to his situation. He was in a hospital if the sterile smell and bright walls were anything to go by, and Sakura was here, along with Inuyasha and Kagome...

Sakura felt his body stiffen underneath her and, assuming it was because of her assault, reluctantly eased off of him.

"Sorry..." she whispered sheepishly, keeping one hand on his bare shoulder and the other pressed into the cool locks of his hair. Now she didn't know what made her think he would be human again; the red highlights were still present, as were his fangs, claws, and slit pupils.

Naruto didn't seem to hear her; he sat up too suddenly for his injuries, the muscles in his back and neck screaming in protest but his eyes were trained over her shoulder, locked onto Kagome's grey dappled ones.

"I..._I am so sorry_!" he gasped, before hunching over and clutching a still injured shoulder when it throbbed against his movements.

"Naruto!" both Kagome and Sakura called in union. Sakura moved her arms around his back to help support him, smoothing a glowing green hand over his aggrieved shoulder to relieve the pain. Kagome had maneuvered to his front and gentry wrapped him up in a motherly hug. He shuddered against her and gripped the sides of her shirt, gasping out incoherent phrases into her neck.

"I should have never asked you to...never had the right...put you in danger..."

"It's okay," she assured him, holding him tighter, relishing in the fact that he was alive, "You did it to protect those that you love. You did the right thing; it wasn't the easiest, but it was right."

Sakura would be lying if she said she wasn't just little bit irked that Kagome was getting all the attention from him, especially after _she_ had to suffer the torment of holding Naruto, dead in her arms...

A warm hand was squeezing hers, and her attention was drawn to Naruto's affectionate, cobalt eyes.

"Sakura," hearing her name escape those lips, when she had thought she would never hear it again, broke any self-control she was holding back for the other visitors' sake. Kagome was now out of the line of fire so she threw herself at him once more, this time crushing her lips to his and holding onto his neck desperately. The last time she had kissed these lips they were lifeless and cold. Those one-sided kisses had hurt. But now Naruto was returning her affections with fervor; he was holding her, speaking to her in mumbled 'I love you's and 'I'm sorry's, looking into her eyes and reflecting life and strength and every other sentiment that would indicate they would be together from now on.

Silent tears were streaming down her face as she showered him with kisses. Seeing him alive and feeling him alive were two entirely different sensations, it was like she had just gotten him back all over again. She felt his hands on her face, large enough to cover her cheeks with ease, stemming her affections with thumbs that brushed away her tears.

"Hey," he was whispering to her, "Hey, no more crying, alright? I'm here now."

She nodded her head but couldn't trust herself to speak. Instead she kissed him again, just holding her lips against his in a prolonged embrace; his hands still cradling her face, her arms still around his neck.

They broke apart, gasping, and she rested her forehead on his.

"No more demons?"

"No more," he smiled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "I promise."

Satisfied for the moment, Sakura stepped back, unwinding her arms from his neck and allowing her hand to slide down the muscled arm closest to her. She picked up the chair she had knocked over and straitened her skirt.

"Good," she said in a much clearer voice, trying to reclaim her composure, "I have a shower to take before I do my rounds here, and then I'll come back as soon as I'm finished."

She gave him a quick goodbye peck, bowed to Inuyasha and Kagome (her face blushing as she realized they witnessed their not so subtle displays of affections) and left the room with as much poise as she could muster.

"She is so cute," Kagome sighed once the door had shut, "Nice catch, Naruto."

Naruto gave a half-cocked grin, "Glad you approve. Oh! How's Harry?"

"He'll be fine," Inuyasha assured him and the brief worried expression that flitted over Naruto's face died back into relaxation, "Nearly gave Kagome a heart attack when he appeared in the house covered with blood."

"Caleb was the one that found him, remember?" she grumbled. Now that the series of mini heart attacks were over for her, she couldn't help but feel annoyed at all the anxiety she was put through in such a short amount of time, "He was the one covered in blood. I hope Bridget cleaned him up..."

"She did," Inuyasha mollified, rubbing the small of her back.

"Sorry," Naruto muttered. He looked down at his clasped hands lying in his lap.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Kagome assured him, not wasting any time in stepping up to draw him into another hug. Holding him like that reminded her that he was alive, and she would do it for as long as she had to. "I really should get back home though. I've been gone for an entire day..."

"All you have to do is release the summon," Inuyasha reminded her. Kagome nodded, glancing down at Naruto. She didn't want to leave him yet, but duties as a mother were calling her back home; she didn't belong in this world and as much as she wanted to tell herself otherwise, he didn't belong in hers. She brushed back some hair out of his eyes, remembering how she always used to insist that he cut it.

"Feel free to summon me for any occasion, alright?"

"Alright," Naruto replied with a sad smile; he also knew the time had come to leave his surrogate family, but knowing didn't make it any easier. After one, last, extra tight hug, Kagome stood in the middle of the room and clasped her hands together, her mind focusing on the release incantation.

'_Eximo!'_

A small 'ping' preceded the plumes of quickly vanishing silvery smoke. It was just Naruto and Inuyasha in the room now...along with forty or fifty tokens of appreciation.

"Well aren't you popular," Inuyasha grinned, snooping into a flowery card garnished with cut out paper hearts and an audacious marriage proposal (including several lewd photos). He snickered and dropped the card into the bouquet of flowers that accompanied it. Naruto blinked around, as if only just noticing the piles upon piles of gifts and flowers. Inuyasha continued talking, not really looking at the blonde; instead he appeared to be semi interested in another card.

"A lot happened while you two were away, you know. The Red Sox won the World Series, _again_. The Celtics have finally made a comeback; they had the best record in the NBA for a while. And the Pats nearly had an all-win season!" Inuyasha merrily reported, finishing off with an annoyed, "Totally blew it at the Super Bowl, though... "

"I still don't understand..." Naruto didn't seem to have heard a word of what Inuyasha was saying, his eyes were unfocused as he gazed out the open window, "I know that I died, but how is it that my life could come back just because I had Gaia's chakra in me?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and picked up another card—this one demanding that Naruto come to their home and exorcise demons from their stove, "You knew it was Gaia?"

Naruto sheepishly scratched the side of his face with a forefinger.

"It was weird" he explained slowly, "I knew I was dead...but then I could feel myself being pulled away from death. And...and I understood what has happening...and why. But I don't know _why_ I knew why...ya' know?" He looked to Inuyasha for confirmation, but the hanyou appeared to only be listening to him, still nosing through cards. "Anyway...it felt like Gaia was communicating with me. I knew she wanted me alive to use as a vessel, and yet, when she pushed her chakra into me, it didn't feel like hers...it felt like my own. But that doesn't make any sense...does it?"

Inuyasha shrugged and dropped the latest card, "Well, if you think about it, it makes perfect sense; where do you think your chakra comes from in the first place? It's really just little pieces of Gaia that your body draws from the earth as you grow and mature."

He finally glanced at his apprentice to see a set of wide, blue eyes staring back.

"Wow...I never thought of it like that," the blonde mumbled, looking back down to his sheet-covered knees to ponder the concept some more.

Inuyasha swallowed. Seeing Naruto sitting there, well and alive, brought another image from his memory to overlap it, one of his prone form, bleeding and cold on the ravine floor. For those few terrifying minutes, Naruto had been dead...just like the bodies of his children all those years ago...

Naruto stiffened when the side of his bed dipped with added weight and Inuyasha's arm wrapped around his shoulders in a one armed hug, before he relaxed into the embrace. The atmosphere was akin to that time back in the cemetery, with Inuyasha's invisible distress rolling off of him. Suddenly, Naruto was very glad to be alive; not just because he spared Kagome unimaginable guilt or because he hadn't left Sakura to be alone, but because he would be one less death Inuyasha would take to heart, one less burden that burned at the hanyou's conscience.

"It's alright now," Naruto said quietly, as if he could read the older man's mind. "I'm fine. And everything is right again in this world—there's nothing really left to kill me."

Inuyasha didn't say anything, instead opting to kiss the side of Naruto's head in a fatherly gesture, his lips lingering in the tangled mess of hair. Naruto's words did little to quell his anxiety; He had almost lost both his boys in the last 48 hours. He knew they were old enough to fight their own battles, but damn it, sometimes he just wanted to interfere. Sometimes he just wanted to hold their hand through everything.

"I know," he conceded, "Doesn't stop me from worrying, though. I don't doubt that you'd probably _find_ something to kill you."

Naruto chucked and leaned further into Inuyasha's side. The hanyou couldn't help but grin; Naruto was really a glutton for affection, willing to soak it up at any chance he got. A comfortable silence encased the two before it was broken by Inuyasha again.

"By the way..." he started, keeping his arm around Naruto incase he tried to escape, "Is there any way you could possibly explain to me how _Tetsuiga_ ended up in this world, lying in the dirt of all places?"

Sure enough, he felt a sudden jerk from the other body at the unexpected question. It was amusing to see the color drain from his face and the tiny beads of sweat form along his brow as Naruto realized he was stuck.

"Uh...I mean...it was actually Harry that...um...can I go to the bathroom?"

"No. And it's 'may I'."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

"Sasuke?"

She found it odd that he deliberately kept his head turned away from her, even after she called his name. He had been unconscious for over three days, having just woken up that afternoon. Unfortunately, when Ino had announced Sasuke's wakefulness to her, her father happened to have been in the vicinity and wasted no time in denying her permission to visit him. This caused for much attempted persuading on her part that ended up escalating into a full blown shouting match, ending with her storming out of the Hyuuga complex with the vow to never return again. That would have made it the fifth time in a month.

Hinata slowly walked further into the uniform hospital room, her sandals clipping quietly with her deft steps. She approached his bed and tenderly touched his arm, silently trying to coax him into looking at her. She hadn't even known he had left on that ridiculous mission until the next morning, when she discovered he was in intensive care at the Konoha hospital. The horrible wait outside the ICU only ended when the red light turned off; she was overcome by relief when it was announced that he would make a full recovery, in addition to which, his brother was dead.

"Sasuke," she tried again, "Look at me, please."

She gave his arm a light squeeze, trying to pass on a demure form of support and comfort. He responded to it, slowly turning his neck, keeping his face downward. She waited patiently a moment longer before his eyes tentatively lifted.

She found herself faced with a pair of crimson eyes, the spiked black ring associated with the Mangekyo Sharingan encircling each pupil.

"I have the Mangekyo Sharingan." He announced needlessly, his voice laced with hollow incredulity.

"How?" she whispered, seeming hypnotized by the deadly beauty they radiated. He suddenly felt self conscious under her study and closed his eyes, pulling the chakra from them until a beetle black remained between each eyelid.

"I think...I think it was when Itachi died...though I don't know how," Sasuke explained, reflecting back to all the emotions raging within him as he stared at his brother's mangled corpse. It was at that moment that his eyes had begun to burn—that moment where he felt nothing but remorse for how everything had turned out for the Uchiha's, for him and Itachi.

Hinata was nodding perceptively beside him, "You spent most of your life obsessing over him. Mentally, you may have held him in the highest regard."

Sasuke studied her delicate features for the moment; not even the harsh overhead lights could temper her beauty. She was the epitome of quiet grace and poise. She wasn't a woman who would force her opinions on him or demand attention from him, yet somehow she made him softer and stronger all at once. She understood what it meant to belong to a clan with impossibly high standards, she knew what it was like to fruitlessly try and impress a family who had already chosen a favorite, a prodigy. She would never expect him to be anything more than what he was and that was why he loved her. He realized how very grateful he felt for having her in his life. He may have lost his entire family, but now he had a new one.

He gently grasped the hand that she had on his arm and brought it up to his lips, kissing the porcelain skin with a tingling intensity.

"Thank you," he murmured against her hand, never breaking contact with those pearl eyes. A light blush dusted her cheeks and she smiled prettily.

He knew his relationship with the Hyuuga Heiress was far more conservative and traditional than perhaps Naruto and Sakura's relationship. It was a slow courtship, with years of customs and traditions drilled into both nobles. They didn't need heated necking to express their need for one another when a small but sensual peck on the hand said it all.

That's not to say they didn't _do_ it.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

"They've found him."

Naruto snapped to attention, turning his head away from the window he was listlessly staring out of to meet Tsunade's sorrowful honey-browns.

"Are you serious?" he sat up, pushing the covers off his body, "When?"

"Just now," she answered, striding forward and catching in the chest with a slender hand. Naruto found himself being pushed back down into the bed where he had been condemned for the better part of a week. Tsunade wouldn't look him in the eye as she continued, "ANBU found his body in a river not far from the ravine you and Uchiha were in. A service will be held in about five days—"

"Well let me see him!" Naruto cried, fighting against Tsunade's superior strength. He was still weak from his 'death', and his injuries were taking their sweet time healing. "What the hell, Baa-chan! Let me go!"

Instead of punishing him for his attitude she closed her eyes and grimaced.

"It's better if you don't see him right now, Naruto," Tsunade choked out, trying to keep her voice strong for him. Seeing the usually impenetrable Godaime fighting to maintain herself was enough to stop Naruto's struggles.

"Baa-chan...?"

"It's better if...if you remember him as he was."

Naruto felt even weaker than before as all his strength left him and he fell back against his pillows at the implication. It hurt. It hurt so much to know someone as strong and carefree as Jiraiya had met such a horrific death. He didn't deserve it, not him.

Tsunade still found it difficult to look at Naruto, especially when he appeared frozen in a silent but agonizing grief, his eyes staring vacantly ahead; she didn't want to see the pain he was in, and she didn't want to be reminded of Jiraiya by the sight of his last legacy. It was a slow recovery, getting over the shock the news of his death brought, and any progress she made was torn anew when the ANBU brought his body into the hospital to get cleaned up. Her old teammate was hardly recognizable; the sight was enough to strip her of her well-maintained composure, leading her to break down in front of her subordinates.

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a ragged looking green book, holding it in front of his blank face.

"This was on his person," she explained quietly, "I believe he meant to give it to you."

He took it automatically, not really registering her departure soon after. The room felt cold all of a sudden; he felt very alone again. Inanely, he inspected the immaterial looking book in his hands—the last thing Jiraiya would ever give to him. His eyes locked onto the title, scratched out in gold across the green canvas; he was staring at his own name.

A book titled _Naruto_? Was this a coincident?

Intrigued, if not feeling a little misplaced amusement, he lifted the cover only to discover the author was Jiraiya.

'_He wouldn't...? No...'_

Surely Ero-sennin wouldn't send him porn as his last parting gift, would he?

There was only one way to find out, so propping himself up against his pillows in a comfortable position, he hesitantly began to read. It turned out it wasn't porn and it Naruto soon found himself enthralled with the fiction. It wasn't a very long story—the sky had just begun to darken as he neared the end—but it had him captivated. The main character seemed so familiar in many respects. The Naruto from the story never gave up despite his many failures, slowly making progress in his life but often being backset at the same time. He was easygoing yet hardworking, powerful yet vulnerable. He reminded Naruto of himself. More importantly, he reminded Naruto of Jiraiya.

As he turned the last page of the book, just after reading about Naruto's reluctant decision to traveling the world alone in hopes of making a difference in someone else's life, something fell out from between last two leafs of paper.

He picked it up; shocked to find it was a photograph. The picture looked nearly as old as the book, with frayed edges and a few light streaks marring the glossy face, but the attractive couple captured within was still recognizable.

The man sitting against the base of a tree was clearly the fourth Hokage with his sunny yellow hair spiking in all directions, slanted blue eyes, and wide grin. The woman snuggled in his arms was laughing, her hair was long and auburn, held back by a clip on one side, and her eyes were a dark, forest green. Both her hands were placed on a large, protruding belly that indicated pregnancy. She was beautiful, he was handsome; the perfect couple.

He stared at the picture for a while, a small smile tugging at his lips as he subconsciously took in the physical likeness between him and the pair: he had her eye shape but his hair, her cheeks, but his jaw, her forehead, his nose, her skin tone, his smile...

Somehow he knew to flip it over; sure enough, on the white backside of the photograph was a hastily scribbled note.

_Jiraiya,_

_We know you don't believe us, but this story was very inspiring—please don't feel that porn is your only option! We've told you before but it is definitely worth naming our son after your character. Tsume took this picture the day after you left on that mission Sarutobi-jiji requested you take. Kushina is due any day now so you better hurry up and get back here—you can't miss your godson's birth!_

_Stay safe, we'll see you soon,_

_Namikaze Minato and Kushina (and Namikaze Naruto!)_

His hand shook, his eyebrows creased, and for the first time since Jiraiya's death, Naruto cried.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Oh poor Naru-chan! -huggles-

I had Naruto's death planned for months, and his resurrection, and the epilogue—I'm not straying from anything I hadn't already written. The story's just about finished, I still have a chapter and the epilogue left I think and then that will be it. I never planned to go further with the crossover than this. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Haha, I can't believe I've had people requesting that I do a quadruple crossover. I'm not THAT crazy...

Hip-hip-hooray for **strider714**, it's a perilous job, editing my work, but he lives to see another day.

Next chapter...

They've kissed, they've humped, they've done things in closets, and now...ladies and gentlemen...the smex. Oo

...The ultimate smex. O.o


	32. Demons do it Better

**Chapter 32**

"You must feed me..."

"No."

"You must!"

"Naruto! You can wait an hour!" Sakura snapped, scribbling down on her clipboard the status of his injuries—or lack thereof. So far he was looking very good; with his current recovery path, she estimated he would be discharged later that evening at the latest.

"I can't," her patient moaned dramatically, slumping sideways on the bed so that his head was practically hanging over the side-railing. The sound of the room's door sliding open gave him no incentive to budge from his overhanging position. Ino walked though the threshold while juggling two vases of assorted flowers—most likely from admirers of the village—and strategically set them down on an open space on the floor.

She stood and brushed her hand together to clear off any dirt, before she caught sight of Naruto.

"How's he doing?" Ino asked Sakura, raising her eyebrow at the groaning boy.

"I'm going into ketosis!" Naruto cried into the mattress, hoping for a sympathetic ear.

Sakura smacked him silent with the clipboard.

"He's fine."

"Ow...Sakura-chaaaan..."

Ino giggled at their antics and not for the first time felt a little envious of the bond they shared. Jealously was no longer an option for her; after all those two went through they deserved all the happiness they could provide for each other. But that didn't stop her from wishing she could land a decent guy of her own.

"Well I can see that things are starting to heat up in here, so I'll take off now," she announced cheekily, inching towards the exit. "Later forehead!"

With a crass scoff and a shake of her head, Sakura hooked the clipboard back to the foot of the hospital bed, "That pig..."

"Hey, Sakura-chan?"

She turned her attention to her temporary charge. Naruto was sitting up again, now bearing a somewhat bashful smile on his face as his hand moved of its own accord to scratch the back of his neck: the telltale sign of nervousness.

"Um...may I take you out on a date tomorrow night?"

"A date?" she repeated vacantly.

"Yeah, you know, like for your birthday? You pick wherever you want to go," he elaborated, not gaining any confidence from her lack of reaction so far. She _was_ his girlfriend, so asking her on a date should not have been so intimidating. Perhaps it was all the times he was rejected—often not with the nicest of methods—that had him automatically expecting her to say no.

"Yes, of course!"

Naruto blinked dumbly at her, "Huh?"

Sakura giggled and leaned forward, pulling him into an excited hug.

"Finally! I've been waiting for you to ask me!" she exclaimed, giving him a big, smacking kiss on the cheek. She pulled back, positively glowing. Naruto couldn't help feeling dazed as a dopey grin spread across his face.

"You—you have?"

"Yes, dummy," she smiled good-naturedly, "Anywhere I want to go, you said? All right, then I want to go to _Kuraidori_."

Naruto laughed at her answer, "Not a cheap date, are you?"

"Nope," Sakura retorted. She made herself comfortable on the side of his bed, knowing she had a few more minutes to spare before her next shift started, "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: did you hear Sasuke got the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

Naruto sobered up at the abrupt bit of information.

"I heard a rumor...so then it's true?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, "I ran into Hinata earlier. Apparently Sasuke vowed to never use it, both to spare his eyesight and for moral reasons."

"Ah, little our little Sasu-chan's come a long way from his power-hungry, ruthless avenging days. Good for him." Naruto teased, leaning back against the propped up pillows with his arms behind his head. Sakura rolled her eyes, thinking it was lucky Sasuke wasn't around to hear his new nickname.

She glanced at the relaxed body sprawled out next to her, trailing the lines of his neck and clavicle that the low-collared hospital shirt showed off. She found that she greatly enjoyed the pastime of studying Naruto when she thought he wasn't looking; the more she got to know him, the more appealing he was in her eyes. Her gaze lingered on his neckline, eyeing the sun-kissed skin that called out to her. The topic she had been meaning to talk to Naruto about jumped to the forefront of her mind. It was a bit uncomfortable to breach on, but she thought it necessary.

"Um...Naruto..."

"Hm?"

She could feel her face heat up prematurely before she asked, "I was just wondering when—I mean _if_ you're going to mark me...?"

He didn't move at first, he didn't even look at her; he just kept his gaze locked on the ceiling. Then, ever so gradually, he lowered his eyes to meet hers, and spent another good minute just staring at her. She stared right back, the only thing holding her impatience back was embarrassment.

"Sakura," he began slowly, "You know you basically just proposed to me, right?"

The blood rushed to her face as embarrassment settled in and she was left wondering if this was what Kagome meant when she said that certain situations would have different meanings.

"I-I—that's not what I—I mean—what I meant was—that—I want to—uh—"

He sat up swiftly and put a finger to her lips, ceasing her uncharacteristic stuttering with that simple action.

"Sakura, I can't think of any else who I could ever mark," he whispered, hooking his finger under her chin and drawing her in for a short but sweet kiss, "but believe me when I say that we are _way_ too young right now."

"Oh..." the blush refused to back down at this point. Oh, how she hated being ignorant on such matters!

"If I marked you now you would be looking like you're barely eighteen for a century."

At the word 'century'—spoken like it was a mere decade—Sakura blanched; was that what Kagome meant by prolonged life?!

"I mean, Kagome was twenty two, I think, when she was marked," he continued, oblivious to Sakura's look of incredulity. "And demons don't reach their age of prime until their at least sixty—not that I have to wait that long!" he quickly assured her, "I'm just a half demon, but marking is a sign of maturity and we should defiantly wait until we're...uh..."

"Fully mature?" she finished for him, an amused smile playing at the corner of her lips. As long as Naruto was by her side, centuries she could live with.

"Yeah..." he mumbled meekly. That was another reason he shouldn't be mated at this age; he clearly didn't have the _mental_ maturity. His train of thought drifted to similar matters regarding marriage.

"Hey...if Sasuke and Hinata had kids..." Sakura's eyebrows rose at the change of topic, "which bloodline do you think they'd get? Would some get the Sharingan and some get the Byakugan...or would a whole new bloodline be born?"

The young woman shook her head, wondering if this was the sort of stuff her boyfriend thought about when ramen or training wasn't on his mind.

"I can't say. But new bloodlines could be very dangerous, and I think that's the reason why the clan heads and council are against their relationship," it was really the only explanation she could offer.

"Really now? Heh...well we'll see about _that_..." her boyfriend muttered while rubbing his hands together in scheme. The look on his face could only be described as diabolical and there was no doubt in her mind that he was thinking about his future agenda as Hokage.

In that moment, as the light from the high noon sun somehow managed to filter through the window to create ominous shadows across Naruto's face, she recalled a specific fear she developed years ago—back when she first met Inuyasha and heard his random dialogue about being a pirate. She couldn't ignore the signs anymore; they were all there...pointing to the obvious...

"Oh my god," she groaned in dismay, "you really _did_ come back weirder than you already were!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Naruto strolled up to the modest claret door and pulled at the collar of his shirt; the worn woodwork seemed incredibly imposing now that he was standing right in front of it. Pushing down the small flutter in his stomach, he knocked three times and stepped back. A moment's pause and then the door swung open to reveal a middle aged woman, with fading, pink hair cut to her chin and a tall, lean frame.

"Good evening Haruno-san," he said without delay, bowing to his girlfriend's mother. Their relationship had improved over the years but he still felt timid around her at times.

The older woman smiled and gestured him inside, "There's no need for that Naruto-kun; how many times do I have to tell you to call me Yori?"

Naruto straightened and grinned sheepishly before entering the premises.

"Sorry Yori-san. Is Sakura-chan ready?"

"She'll be down in just a minute. I dare say she'll be impressed—you look quite handsome this evening."

"Heh, heh, thanks," he blushed, glancing down at his attire. It was nothing overtly fancy; just a pair of black slacks and a nice royal blue, button up dress shirt, all from the world of his second home.

"Oh there she is!" Yori proclaimed as her daughter stumbled into the living room with all the grace of a rhino, "Honestly Sakura! Despite what you hear, it's not classy to keep a man waiting."

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled in response to her mother's scolding, hopping on one foot to slip on a high heel. It was bad enough that her apartment building was temporarily condemned because of a busted gas-line, but on top of that her mother had wasted no time in falling back into her nagging-for-the-sake-of-nagging mode. Maybe she could convince Naruto to let her live with him for the time being...

"Wow, Sakura-chan, you look beautiful." Naruto said with complete honestly. She was in a knee-length skirt, white and pattered with silver and pink cherry blossoms. Her top was silver and glittered under the lamp light; sleeveless, it hugged her body with a loose neck that dipped low enough to show a peek of cleavage. Her hair was left down for the most part; only the top half was tied back while the rest hung to brush the tops of her shoulder blades.

She finally succeeded in strapping the damnable shoe onto her foot and, with a satisfied breath, took a look at her boyfriend.

"Why thank you Naruto, I..." her eyes widened slightly and the crowns of her cheekbones pinked. Her inner flew off the handle.

'**HOT DAMN! WE GOTTA TAP THAT ASS! **_**IMMEDIATELY.'**_

'_I know! Shut up, shut up, shut up!'_

"Y-you look great yourself," she responded quickly to cover up her falter. The shirt made his eyes shine and was unbuttoned at the top to allow a flash of tan skin to contrast the material; seeing him so well groomed made her realize what a man he had turned out to be.

"Well let's not waste time here, I'm sure you have a reservation waiting," Yori broke in and began to usher the couple out of the house a little too eagerly.

"Bye mom!"

"Bye Haru—ah, Yori-san."

Arms looped together, the young duo strolled down the walkway and into the dirt road for their first official date; the restaurant was only about a mile from Sakura's home so the walk would be twenty minutes at the most.

"Oh, Naruto!" Sakura's mother suddenly called out down the street once they were at a great enough distance that the entire neighborhood would hear, "I'd prefer it if you didn't take her back tonight...AT ALL!"

"MOM!" Sakura screamed, whirling on the spot and looking affronted and livid all at once. Homura-san from across the street snickered into the laundry she was folding, and old-man Takashi-jiji who lived two houses over sat in his porch chair, wheezing amidst his croaky laughs. She felt her face heat up in mortification.

"It's alright Sakura-chan," Naruto chuckled, taking her arm and gently pulling her back on their path, "she's just teasing you."

Sakura grudgingly allowed herself to be led through the streets, stewing in her annoyance at her mother. The woman was to be turning forty-five soon enough and yet somehow she managed to retain the maturity of a ten year old.

Naruto chanced a glance down at his now irate girlfriend and sighed; an angry Sakura-chan was never easy to deal with—though he did love her for her temper, among other things. After a bit of brainstorming, an idea finally occurred to him that may have been able to set the mood back for the date.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, I learned a magic trick from Harry. Cuz he's a wizard, ya know? Wanna see?"

She arched her eyebrow gracefully and peeked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Sure," she said, deciding to humor him. As long as it got her mind off of her idiot of a mother...

Grinning and looking very pleased with himself, Naruto jumped in front of her, stopping their walk again.

"Ready? Now watch carefully," he ordered. He lifted both his hands and moved them around in a ridiculous flurry of motions right in front her face. After several seconds of almost getting smacked in the nose, his hands stilled to reveal...nothing.

"That was it?" Sakura snorted, amused but not in the sense he was probably aiming for. Naruto only grinned disarmingly at her in response, causing her heartbeat to quicken a notch only by leaning inwards. He brought a hand toward her face, lifting it closer and closer in an aggravatingly slow manner, causing color to rise to her cheeks for the third time that day. She felt his fingers brush by her jaw and trace the shell of her ear with ghostly touches before they pulled back. A blooming yellow carnation rested between his thumb and forefinger, freshly plucked from her hair.

Stunned, she speechlessly took it from its proffered position in front of her face, automatically bringing it to her nose to smell the delicate aroma.

"How did you...?"

She didn't even remember being mad at her mother, she could only wonder at how she managed to land a guy who could mix silly and romantic to the point of perfection.

"It's magic of course!" he insisted with a wide, goofy grin that she hadn't seen since their 'team seven' days.

Sakura shook her head in mirth and laced her fingers with his, resuming their walk hand in hand...and flower in hand for her other side.

Kuraidori was packed that night. The clanging of silverware and the music of chatter were punctuated by loud rounds of laughter that drifted from the open doorway. Naruto held Sakura's hand tightly has he weaved his way through the line of people waiting for a table and approached the hostess.

"Reservations for two, Uzumaki."

The woman—who couldn't have been more than twenty—snapped her head up at the name, the pen in her hand nearly slipped from her fingers. Her eyes focused on Naruto's body and suddenly Sakura's 'bitch-dar' sounded on high alert. The slim brunette seemed delighted at the sight of the young hero and leaned forward against the podium, squeezing her breasts between her arms so that a sinful amount of cleavage had practically popped out of the unbuttoned uniform. She was gazing at Naruto with half lidded eyes and a sultry smile on her lips.

Sakura fumed at the tasteless action; couldn't this slut see that he had come here with a date? Naturally her idiot of a boyfriend hadn't realized the woman that was supposed to be checking their reservation was blatantly undressing him with her eyes.

"Oh, Uzumaki-dono!" she cooed, completely ignoring the highly irate woman at his side, "I can't believe I get to personally meet the Wind Runner—"

Sakura twitched at her simpering and it was very fortunate that a full out, completely one-sided cat fight was eluded by another individual.

"Welcome!" a booming voice to their left called, causing Sakura to jump and curse the crowd of people surrounding them for impeding her ninja abilities. The voice belonged to a portly but friendly looking man with a thick black mustache hanging over a wide smile, "My name is Hamada Ryota and I am the manager of this establishment. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you have chosen to dine at the Kuraidori this evening. Please, follow me. I will personally show you to your table."

Naruto exchanged a look with his date at the unanticipated turn of events. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he shrugged and followed, keeping Sakura's hand tightly held in his so that they didn't get separated in the crowd.

Sakura saw the woman shoot her a nasty look and for some ludicrous reason—most likely from spending too much time with Naruto—she responded by sticking her tongue out and hugging her body closer to Naruto's arm as they were led away.

They were escorted up to the second floor where the diners were spread farther apart for more privacy and the noise levels were considerably lower. The table they were seated at was right next to a wide window overlooking the village.

"Oh, this is beautiful!" Sakura exclaimed, taking the chair Naruto had pulled out for her gracefully. Hundreds of window lights stood out starkly against the night sky, mirroring the stars directly overhead.

"Here are your menus," two laminated leaflets were handed to each of them before the manager bowed low, "Everything is on the house tonight. Enjoy!"

Naruto looked up from his browsing to protest but by some ninja-like feat Ryota had already left.

"Well that was nice of him," Sakura said absently, trying to decide whether she wanted the umeboshi as an appetizer or the domburi.

Naruto sighed, "I can't accept free meals. I'll feel like less of a man."

His girlfriend scoffed from behind her menu.

"Hun, you fight demons; I don't think your masculinity will be coming into question anytime soon."

He smiled and silently agreed to some extent with her statement—however sarcastic it may have been.

All in all, Sakura thought it was a wonderful date; the atmosphere was warm and inviting, the food was delicious—both tasteful and aesthetically pleasing—and Naruto kept her entertained with multitudes of funny stories from the other world. They had ordered champagne, something Sakura had never tasted before but, after some encouragement from Naruto, found herself liking the bubbly tingles that tickled her throat very much. Their night finished on a high note, with Naruto genially haggling with the manager about the payment of their meal that ended with him simply leaving a generous tip.

The couple had spent well over two hours at the restaurant, exiting the establishment sometime after nine. They walked at a leisurely pace, occasionally breaking out into giggles, enjoying the warm spring air, the fullness of their bellies, and the slight buzz from the champagne.

Naruto's surprise was only mild when, after reaching the Haruno residence, Sakura strengthened her hold on his arm forcibly continued their walk right past it, in the direction of his own apartment.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

**WARNING: GRAPHIC LEMON SCENE AHEAD**

She shouldn't have been this nervous—after all, this was what she had been pining after for the last couple of years—yet as his apartment door swung open to reveal the darkened interior, Sakura couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety. This was it; she wasn't leaving this place a virgin.

Naruto reached inside and flicked the lights on, stepping aside to allow her entry before him. She really loved his place now; it was bigger than her own apartment and more stylish too. Clearly, it pays to have friends who know magic.

She slipped her shoes off her feet (funny how it was much easier than getting them on) and placed them neatly next to Naruto's hastily kicked off ones. Sighing, she arranged them as well.

"Do you want anything?" Naruto asked, cocking his head bemusedly as she organized his shoes next to hers, "a drink or something?"

Sakura shook her head, almost hating how he could seem so calm when she could hardly control her breathing for apprehension. She had been alone in his apartment with him before, and they've made out among other things, not knowing how far they would go each time. But for some reason she just felt awkward standing in front of him while doing nothing but fiddle with the hem of her shirt. Why was she feeling so embarrassed now? Why couldn't she look him in the eye without her stomach flipping uncomfortably?

All of a sudden, Naruto was in front of her, pulling her close to his body by enclosing his arms around her waist and pressing their stomachs together.

"Sakura, look at me."

She hesitated for but a second, and then her lashes curled up and she met his gaze head on, the impossibly blue irises only inches from her own.

"We don't have to do anything," he assured her quietly. "You don't have to feel so pressured. We have all the time in the world now."

She began shaking her head vigorously.

"No, I want to! I really, really...really want to..."

He seemed unconvinced so she did the most persuasive thing a woman could do in a situation like this.

She grabbed his package.

"WHOA!" he cried, jumping back a little from the harsh shock. She hadn't exactly been gentle, but every demon likes a little pain with their pleasure. "You sly little vixen—!"

He made to grab at her but she ducked under his arms with a shriek, laughing as she ran down the single hall of his apartment. She could hear him gaining on her and she screamed again as she burst into the bedroom, just barely avoiding being tackled. She tried to jump up over the queen-sized bed but a hand closed around her ankle and tugged hard enough to have her falling face-forward into the mattress.

"Oh no! Help!" she cried playfully into the otherwise empty apartment as two large hands roughly turned her on her back. She came face to face with the man towering over her, half-crawled on the bed and propped up by his arms.

"Do you have any idea what you've done, little girl?" he growled out with a dark leer. His eyes raked over her gasping form, "Now I have no choice but to punish you!"

The words had her giggling even before he assaulted her with wiggling fingers, attacking her underarms and sides.

"Stop! Stop!" she cried pitifully, twisting and turning to the best of her ability; his knees were doing a good job of squeezing her hips in place and her arms were occupied with fending off his attack.

And then he was kissing her.

He made sure it was a slow kiss—open mouthed so that she could catch her breath. She responded accordingly; her arms wrapped around his neck and her knees eased down over the edge of the bed so that he could settle more comfortably on top of her.

It wasn't long before one of his hands began inching its way under her shirt; the large palm was warm but the fingers colder, leaving an interesting sensation crawling along the smooth skin of her stomach. The lightweight shirt bunched at his wrist as he made his way to her ribs, grabbing at her slender frame and pulling her up closer to his body in a show of possession.

Sakura moaned as their bodies rubbed together. Her hands slid from his neck and down his chest, stopping at the second button of his shirt to pop it open. She continued to kiss him and enjoy the ministrations of his hands as she slowly made her way down the navy cloth, opening each button to reveal soft, scar-less skin; skin that would otherwise be impossible to find on a ninja of his caliber.

She sat up, causing him to back off, and practically tore the shirt off his shoulders. It hit the ground behind him, leaving Naruto bare from the waist up ignoring the first's necklace. Sakura was happy to see him try to repress a shiver as she took a moment to stare at his body with unveiled desire. There was something very different about his naked torso here and how it looked in the hospital; here it seemed healthier, golden, with wry muscles that cut against each other—the smallest movement caught with a strong ripple. It had to be the lighting, she decided.

Be it the champagne or the ambiance, a heated spark had ignited within her abdomen. The area between her legs itched for a touch only he could provide and suddenly she just wanted his hands on her. She wanted _her_ hands on _him_. Taking advantage of their cease-kissing, she crossed her arms, gripping the bottom of her shirt at opposite hips, and whipped it over her head, tossing the fabric somewhere over her shoulder.

"Damn Sakura..." Naruto murmured, his eyes raking over the white lacy bra that brought out the pink tones in her skin. He lifted his hands to touch her but she beat him to the punch, shooting up off the bed and all but throwing herself at his body. His skin was so _warm_—she wanted to touch him in every way imaginable; she wanted to explore his figure, seeing everything he had to offer.

"I want..."

His mouth was on hers again, his hot breath condensing on her lips.

"I want to..."

Her fingers tugged at the button on his pants and he faltered. She left his mouth in favor of the perfectly warm, smooth skin below his collarbone. She lapped at his chest, enjoying the clean, tepid taste of his skin. She could feel his pectorals shudder against her devilish lips and her hands began journeying his physique, covering what her mouth did not. His dark nipples hardened under her trailing fingertips and she smirked. Giving each one a playful tweak she was rewarded with Naruto whispering her name breathlessly. Slowly, she made her way down his body, her knees bending in time with his zipper's decent by her left hand. By the time she was kneeling she had his pants pooled at his feet. She paused to dip her tongue in his bellybutton, licking along the ghostly wake of his seal, before dragging her nose through the velvety happy trail and down to the elastic waist of his boxers. The muscles between his hips contracted and knotted as she reached the obvious bulge; penis muscles, she believed was the common term for them, and his were nicely defined.

Her breath stilled for a moment as her fingers stayed hooked in the last of the barriers that kept the man she had been dreaming about for the last few years from being completely in the nude. Naruto was standing perfectly still, doing nothing to protest her actions, yet nothing to encourage her either. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye so she kept her gaze focused in front of her, determinedly sliding off the last of his clothing.

The thin material dropped to join the pants at his ankles and suddenly she was staring at the dark head of a fully erect penis. She honestly hadn't expected him to be circumcised, though she had known some orphanages to make that a standard procedure for their infants. Soft blonde curls poked up around the base of his shaft and lightly covered the hanging testicles between in legs. Her arousal peeked as she brought a hand up and gently gripped the warm, hard flesh; the blood pulsing through the thick vein heated the palm of her hand further. Her fingers could barely wrap around the thick base and if she were to garner an estimate she would guess he was about five inches in circumference. That was slightly larger than average—Ha! Take that Sai!

She felt a hand on her head and she glanced guiltily up at the man whose dick she was holding without permission. The smile he sent down was warm and understanding but she could also sense his uneasiness: his own fear of being judged. She wanted to assure him that he really had nothing to be ashamed of; it was hard to run across a body as beautiful as his.

She swallowed, her hand still holding his throbbing member as she whispered, "Please, I want to learn..."

She tried not to look away as the passion in his eyes amplified. How did he make them glow in the dim lighting like that? Perhaps it was a demon thing...

"Oh my God," he finally hailed after almost a full ten seconds of silent gaping, "Sakura, you were so _hot_ when you just said that!"

She blushed and laughed a little, some of her nervousness washing away. Naruto would let her know what she was doing right and doing wrong, and hopefully he would use noises of approval when she hit the right spots just she did when he went down on her.

She nodded to herself resolutely. He had given her so much pleasure and she really wanted to return the favor...but seven inches were _not_ going down her throat—maybe someday, but not this time. She'd just have to make up for it in other ways.

Keeping her grip on the base of his shaft, she tentatively stuck out her tongue and ran it up the underside and over the mushroomed head. He tasted much like the rest of his skin: clean and warm. But the musk of his arousal turned the taste into something much more virile and masculine. The hitch of breath delivered from overhead was encouraging...

She did it again, licking along every inch of the silken rod, coating it in her saliva, before putting the top half in her mouth. Almost immediately she felt a hand on her head, gripping into her pink locks with an intensity that said she was doing something right. She bobbled her head a few times, trying to take in more than four inches, but the effort in trying not to scrape it with her teeth caused her jaw to ache. After some experimenting she discerned that he seemed to respond well to attention directed at the head of his penis so, letting back a little and sparing her jaw some pain, she kept her lips fashioned around the thickset unit and flicked her tongue over the purpled mushroom quickly, stimulating the glands.

"D-do that again!" Naruto grunted, tightening his fingers in her hair. She complied, making sure to run the pink muscle along the slit, collecting bitter droplets of pre-cum. "Y-yeeahhh...ugh...that's it..."

Gaining confidence, she began to suck, concentrating blood to the already abused head. His response was gratifying in every sense as he groaned louder and bucked his hips, her name escaping his lips every now and then.

She was still sucking when she pulled out, producing a 'pop' sound. Panting from both her own arousal and the desire to make him feel good, she crouched under the glistening phallus and took the larger of the two balls into her mouth, creating suction. The hair was sparse along the stretched skin so it wasn't entirely unpleasant; she could feel that his testes were straining within their sack, full and ready to release. The tightly muscled thighs by her ears began to quiver as that time neared; his scent became so concentrated that she was dizzy.

Deciding to finish this once and for all, she went back to taking in as much of his length as she could while kneading the taut balls with inexperienced fingers. His hips started moving on their own accord and she quickly found that by relaxing her throat she could take a little more of him inside.

"Guh—_Sakura!_"

The back of her throat was blasted by the strong, bitter globs of his spunk. She pulled him out of her mouth, coughing a little as her eyes watered from the unexpected onslaught. She would probably have to work on that, but all in all she thought she did pretty well for her first blowjob.

"Sorry," Naruto puffed out sheepishly, trying to catch his breath, "I should have given you a better warning. But that...that was amazing..."

He had tried not to be too rough with her; he had learned that most girls didn't like it when their head was grabbed and force-fucked—but having the woman of his dreams go down on him like that left very little room for self control.

Sakura stood, wincing a bit at the soreness in her knees but blushing all the same at his praise.

"It's alright, that was kind of fun," she answered honestly, to which he raised an eyebrow in surprised delight. He really loved this girl.

The grin was back on his face as he stalked toward her. He set hands on her sides just under her ribs and delicately kissed her shoulder. Slowly using his lips to trail feather-light touches that left burning imprints on her heated skin, he moved up to her neck. His hands were ghosting along her body, tan fingers contrasted with the paleness of her back as they traced up her spine, stopping at the clip of her bra.

His mouth teasing her neck in ways that she didn't know were possible distracted her from the removing of her bra; it wasn't until the colder air swept over her nipples did she realize she was completely topless. Her skirt came next; she had been so enthralled with the molasses pace he was putting on her body that she barely registered him undressing her.

Naruto leaned back to take a good look at her body, keeping a pleased smile on his face as he surveyed what she had to offer. The underwear had matched the bra, white and lacy and soaked with her excitement. And, while her breasts weren't particularly large by any means, hardly growing past a B-cup, they were full and pert and every bit perfect in Naruto's eyes.

He told her as much.

He told her a lot of things as he roamed her body with his lips and fingers, attending to her breasts as he would a priceless treasure, touching her with just enough pressure to leave her yearning for more. He mumbled how beautiful she was against the soft tresses of her hair. He whispered all the things he wanted to do to her into the space between her breasts. He declared everything she meant to him as he sucked just over the sill of her hip, leaving red welts. Goosebumps broke out over her arms and stomach; just his words could make her ache with need.

She closed her eyes in rapture. She felt her underwear being slid down her legs and she stepped out of the bunched silk dutifully.

It was only with mild surprise that she found that she didn't feel the least bit self-conscious as the last of her clothing was removed from her body. Perhaps it was because she was lushed off of sheer arousal or maybe because he had already seen her naked down there before. She felt so comfortable with him, like he was just another part of her. Was this what it was like to be truly in love?

Naruto kissed in an arch over the thatch of strait, pink hairs; noting that they weren't curled like his. His hands kneaded the soft, white globes of her butt as he buried his nose into her pubes, letting her scent intoxicate him.

"I love you," he murmured, his breath tickling the wet lips of her vagina before he gave them a soft, loving peck as if they were the lips of her mouth. The entire atmosphere had Sakura in a tizzy. Biting her lip, she ran a hand through his hair, catching his attention.

"_Now."_

It was all she needed to say. He nodded and slowly rose, running his hands up the length of her body as he did so—it was his to touch as he pleased, after all, and he intended to take full advantage of that.

Her heartbeat sounded painfully loud within her head, the quick pace matched the flutter in her stomach as Naruto guided her backwards onto the bed. Laying her head to rest on a comforter-covered pillow, he crawled on top of her, spreading her legs and lowering his abdomen to hers.

"Ready?"

Sakura glanced down and saw he had his hand on his already hard shaft, poised at her entrance and waiting for her signal. Swallowing a bit, she looked into the eyes that hovered over her; the blue had darkened into royal cobalt and gleamed with such appreciation and passion that she felt completely safe. She nodded—she had been waiting for this moment, she was on birth control, there was nothing stopping this from happening.

The heated head penetrated first, followed by the rest as she swallowed his length inch by inch. It was a weird feeling at first; she winced as she was stretched and felt ever so thankful that her hymen had broken years ago during her training. He paused with an inch or two to spare as he lingered above her, keeping his weight on his forearms.

"You ok?" he panted; she could see that he was making an effort to go slow for her and she appreciated it.

"Yeah...keep going," she sounded breathless to her own ears, even though she had only been lying down.

He pulled out a little before pushing back all the way in until their pelvises were pressed against each other.

"Ngh...God you're tight..." he moaned in a throaty voice that could only turn her on. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to concentrate on the sensation around his cock, "...you feel so good..."

"Go..." she ordered; it still felt weird to her, but at the same time _perfect_.

His hips began to shift back and forth in slow, rhythmic motions and the uncomfortable tightness gave way to a slow-building pleasure. It was more than just the sex...she felt absolutely complete; him filling her felt right above anything else. She couldn't get over the feel of his narrow hips pressed between her legs or the weight of his warm, naked body sliding against hers. The pleasure that was mounting was nothing compared to the intense emotions that were stirring in her chest; Naruto had kept his eyes locked on hers the whole time as he continued to move above her, savoring her every expression. That alone made that moment all the more special.

Unable to help himself anymore, he swooped down and kissed her, keeping it slow and controlled just like the rolling motion of his hips.

"You know...," he started to say, keeping his nose inches from hers, "missionary is...supposed to be the least—hmmm—sexually satisfying position for a woman..."

A tiny part of her wanted to ask—with the utmost scruple—just _how_ he knew that bit of information, but it vanished with another sweep of his hips.

"It—it gets bet-better?" she instead chuffed, already starting to lose herself to the sensations in her groin.

He grinned, albeit unsteadily due to his own gratification, and rumbled in her ear, "Wanna speed things up?"

Before she could react she was suddenly lifted up off of her back as he pulled her forwards and onto his lap. She was impaled further and she gasped at the incredibly satisfying sensation. Intuition took over and, after wrapping her legs around his waist, she began to bounce to her own pace, trying to take him deeper than what was physically possible.

A new feeling was stirring within her; now that the suffocating intensity of Naruto's gaze was no longer distracting her she was all too aware of the tingling feeling that was building and building, adding to a salacious pressure deep within her abdomen.

She continued to ride him, pushing back on his shoulders to give herself more leverage as she leaned over him, her hair falling to one side of her neck and dangling above his whiskers. The demonic heritage Naruto now carried didn't sit well with their new position.

Sakura released a loud squeak in between moans as they were rolled over so that he was on top and her head was almost hanging off of the foot of the bed. He lifted her legs higher to hug his ribs and continued to speed up.

"Yes..." she hissed in approval at the increased friction, bearing her throat to him as she relaxed her head backwards. Her breathing became increasingly harsher and her breasts heaved enticingly in a slight arch, prompting Naruto to nip at the flushed buds, careful to keep his fangs from accidentally hurting her as his lower half moved at a faster pace.

The sensations were driving her mad, straight into a lust-crazed mentality. Mimicking Naruto's earlier actions, she forced their bodies to roll over again...

...right off of the bed.

Naruto grunted softly as his back hit the floor, his dick miraculously still inside her. He glared playfully at her painful stab at dominance—though he wouldn't deny that it was a bit of a turn on.

"S-sorry," she giggled, giving him an appeasing kiss before rolling her hips in hopes to get moving again. Naruto glared playfully at her.

"Ugh, think that's funny, huh?"

Later on she would boggle at how he did this without slipping out of her...

Strong, muscled arms wrapped around her lower back as he hugged her tight to his body and stood. Her bewilderment of being lifted was thrown out of her as she was slammed against the wall, hard enough to rattle the glass of the window on the other side of the room. The new angle brushed against her g-spot in just the right way causing her to dig her nails into his back as her legs enveloped his waist in a vice-like grip.

"OH! That_—yesssss—_there_—again—!_"

Naruto shut her up with a fierce kiss, his hips moving again at a brutal pace. Her ass was slammed against the wall with each strong, sharp thrust; the ecstasy was rising to overwhelming levels at an alarming speed. The sounds of their harsh gasps, grunts and moans blended flawlessly with the loud thuds against the wall and the slapping of his balls against her butt cheeks. She raked her fingernails down his whiskers and he let out a fierce growl that was completely inhuman.

Just when she thought the ecstasy couldn't possibly build any higher, he gripped her left leg and hoisted it so that the knee was hooked over his shoulder, holding her other leg that was still wrapped around his waist under the thigh. Her flexibility allowed her to stay in the pretzel-like position as he pistoned in and out of her.

She rolled her head back against the wall and loudly moaned with no restraint. Deep, winded breaths shifted her breasts up and down squished between their chests, their nipples brushing against each other and creating all new sensations.

Entirely stimulated, she clutched at his sweaty neck; glancing over his shoulder, she could see the tight ass muscles that clenched and unclenched along with his hips' siphoning motions. The image nearly tore down the last of her restraint. Her body was on fire, the pressure between her legs was almost painful.

"God—oooh...Nnnnn...Naruto...I'm—I'm—I'm—"

"Y-yeah—" he hissed, understanding what she wanted amongst his own impending climax.

He stumbled backwards away from the wall; she clung to him, continuing to ride him as he fell against the bed at the knees. She lifted herself into a straddling position and impaled herself onto his length over and over again, her fingers curling at his stomach. Fighting down the instinct to put her back underneath him—this night was about _her_—he gripped her hips with bruising force and lifted his pelvis up in time to meet with each of her bounces, driving in as deeply and as sharply as he could.

Sakura could feel it spreading from her crotch and up throughout her body—the sizzling, maddening force that had been building since he first crawled on top of her.

"Oh, ah, oh, _OH—N-Naruto!!!_"

Her release was explosive, far more so than what he did to her in the closet over a week ago; her vision was blotted by white and delirium as she rode out wave after wave of her orgasm. Her body began to weaken from the intensity but Naruto kept at it, making sure to keep her climax going for as long as possible.

Her walls contracted spastically around his member, slicked further by her wetness and with one sharp spasm he came.

"Sssssuh-Sakura! Ah—!"

She could feel the hot liquid filling her, dribbling around his softening cock and down her legs, mingling with her own juices. The last of her energy escaped her and she collapsed against his chest as exhaustion took over, resting her forehead on his collarbone.

For a few moments there was nothing but the sound of their own harsh panting as they relished in the afterglow of such powerful orgasms.

"So...," Naruto said between breaths, a crooked smile worming onto his face, "was it as good for you as it was for me?"

Sakura lifted her head stared at him through heavy lidded eyes, his baby blues sparkled right back at her with a trace of humor. She would have giggled at the use of such a clichéd line if she wasn't so exhausted. Another silence encompassed as she struggled to gather her bearings.

"Is sex...always...always like that?" she panted. She felt wonderful, completely satiated in a way she hadn't known was possible.

"With me it is," he grinned. She moaned in protest as he rolled them over, slipping his limp girth out of her before he slowly walked out of the room. She couldn't even think about where he was going as she lay on her back, staring dazedly up at the ceiling. Her breath was only just starting to calm down when her lover returned with a damp washcloth in hand.

"Here," he said, handing it to her, "congratulations, you're no longer a virgin."

"Thanks," Sakura giggled as she wiped herself down quickly; the sweat on her body was beginning to cool, leaving her feeling a bit chilly. Naruto pulled back the covers on the bed and together they crawled underneath, converging to each other like it was second nature.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her temple and then resting his head on their shared pillow. The serotonin released in his brain was too high for him to stay awake much longer. Despite this, it didn't stop him from hearing Sakura's echo.

"I love you too."

Sakura would forever grateful that she had decided to wait until that night to give up her virginity. There were times as a young teenager in which she seriously considered just having sex with a guy for the sake of saying that she had done it; hearing accounts from friends and co-works often had her feeling left out and immature. However, those stories also included how dissatisfying and awkward their first times were—in most cases the guy finished too quickly or they had to fake an orgasm. Looking at Naruto's sleeping form she knew she would never have to add one of those memories to her arsenal.

He would always make her feel loved and he was the only man who could make her feel like a real woman. One day, when they were old enough, he would mark her, binding their souls together for all eternity.

She snuggled down into the blanket, burrowing her face in his chest and inhaled the musk of their sex that lingered.

Until that day came, they would just have to practice.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

And the seals they sing now: arf arf arf arf arf arf...

How's **THAT** for a lemon? Squeezy squeezy! I wanted to make it as realistic as possible from Sakura POV (obviously since I'm a girl and I can't accurately write from Naruto's --). It's my first, please be gentile...;)

No, Sakura is not going to get pregnant. Everyone and their mom does that—Naruto and Sakura fall for each other, they finally have sex, and OMFG she's pregnant because she forgot her birth control...or whatever. Honestly, having a child that young is a huge liability, especially during a new relationship. They want to enjoy each other first!

Well, that was the last _real_ chapter of Troika Parallel--and damn was this the longest chapter yet--though there will be a nice little epilogue I'll have out soon enough to tie up some ends. So stay tuned for that!

Thanks to **strider714** for editing and thank _you_ for the reviews my lovelies! Tell me how I rate on the...lemon-dar...?


	33. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Four years later...**

"Oi, Hokage-sama, where does this go?"

"Um...over there."

"Are you sure, brat? I think it would look better against that wall."

Naruto sent his predecessor an irritated look.

"Baa-chan, I've been planning this out for the last fifteen years, I think I know where I want my shit to go."

Hagane Kotetsu snorted behind the potted fern he was carrying before ducking down as the last living Sannin glared in his direction. He carefully lowered the plant by the five pictures of the previous Hokage's and scurried out of the room to get the next item to be ferried. The new Hokage insisted on bringing all his plants into his office to improve the feng shui of the otherwise bland room.

Naruto took a deep and satisfied lungful of air as he surveyed his new domain. He had done it; he was the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure at twenty-one years of age—younger than even his father. The public had all but demanded that he take over once Tsunade announced her retirement, and remarkably enough the council backed his nomination nearly one hundred percent. There was a time when this scenario would have been thought laughable, but after the destruction of the Akatsuki Naruto's popularity skyrocketed.

Now he stood tall at six feet even, wearing his long white and red robes and surveying the general activity around him; Kotetsu and Izumo were moving some of his personal things into the office, Shizune was trying to get him on a head start with the paperwork, and Tsunade was just plain antagonizing him (or as she would call it, "guidance").

"You look good," the buxom blonde promised him when she saw him picking at the sleeves of his gown. She was right; those robes were made for him.

"Thanks," he smiled, directing a soft look at the triangular hat he held in his hands. It was almost surreal to be holding it, knowing it belonged to him now. For so long he had waited for this; he boasted about it even when there were times when deep down he questioned his own ability to pull through.

"I hope you've got your acceptance speech ready," Tsunade continued, giving him an appraising look, though she already knew his answer.

Sure enough, after a nonchalant shrug he replied with confidence, "I can wing it."

"Naruto..."

"Come on, baa-chan! With my charm and charisma? I don't need to prepare a speech," Naruto grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her much in the same way Jiraiya used to. She rolled her eyes, unable to keep the smile from creeping up on her face

"Or lack thereof."

Naruto spotted Sai standing in the open doorway, a mission report in his hand regarding the solo A-rank he just returned from.

"I suppose I should just go to bed early rather than suffer through your stuttering, dickless," Sai smirked, though it was at least sincere. Fortunately, his old teammate had long since stopped reacting so violently to the jibe.

"You wouldn't like it anyway," Naruto assured him, "It has nothing to do with penises."

"Touché."

The artist sauntered up to the desk and dropped the neatly organized folder on his desk, "Your first report. Enjoy it."

Laughing, Naruto flipped him off as he left the office and fell back into his chair, relaxing into the firm padding. He could still remember glaring at the piece of furniture in envy every time he saw the Sandaime perched in it, knowing it was meant to be his seat.

"How does it feel?" his predecessor asked, enjoying the sight of her adoptive little brother finally achieving his dream. That necklace finally pulled through for someone.

"Natural," was his one word answer. It certainly did feel as though he was meant to be sitting behind the glossy maple-wood desk—miraculously void of dents—looking out from the other side.

"Hey, Baa-chan..." Naruto started. Tsunade took her eye off of Izumo and Kotetsu who were juggling a fragile looking Pothos and turned to her successor. Naruto had his hands splayed across the fine, gloss of the desk top, "Is this desk the original since the First?"

"It is," the woman answered, impressed that he had noticed something like that, "the First created it using his Mokuton and that's why it's practically indestructible."

"That must be why it never breaks no matter how many times you threw it out the window, Lady Tsunade," Kotetsu declared cheerfully. This time he jumped behind Izumo as Tsunade sent him the stink-eye.

"I see..." Naruto mumbled, rubbing his chin in contemplation. Had a certain volatile, green-eyed wizard been present he would have immediately recognized the look as one associated with Inuyasha and a harebrained scheme.

"Why do you ask Hokage-sama?" Shizune asked. She had now moved to arranging the informational scrolls on a shelf wall so that Naruto might have an easier time finding anything particular.

"Shizune, you can still call me Naruto," he said, shooting an absent smile in her direction, "Anyway, I only asked because I was just wondering if every Hokage we've had so far has had sex on it."

"WHAT?" both Shizune and Tsunade screamed simultaneously. Izumo choked on some spit and Kotetsu was flat out laughing. The young Hokage paid no attention to their reactions.

"Yeah, I mean, it makes complete sense," Naruto continued sagely with his eyes closed, not noticing the huge tick on the right side of Tsunade's temple or Shizune clutching her chest in scandal, "This desk has probably seen it all if it's been here since the very first Hokage."

Naruto opened one eye and glanced at Tsunade, aside from her pissed off look there was also a red hue splashed across her nose.

"IT'S TRUE!" he yelled accusingly, jumping up from his chair and pointing his finger inches from her nose, "It must be! I can see it on your face, woman!"

He paused thoughtfully, looked at Tsunade again, and shuddered. Blushing further, the accused woman jumped at him with a raised hand, fully intending on smacking the idiot through the window. But Naruto had other plans and ducked under the bludgeoning appendage, now absolutely sure of his theory by her reaction. He had suspected it for years—anyone with half a mind would have sex in their own office at least once—but knowing that it was the _original_ desk for all five hokages was even better. Admittedly disturbing, but still pretty cool.

At this point, Kotetsu and Izumo were beside themselves with laughter. Unfortunately for one particular school teacher of Konoha, Iruka chose that moment to give the new Hokage and his former student a congratulatory visit.

"Iruka!" Naruto yelled the second the brunette walked in the room; he was on a roll from Tsunade's silent confirmation, completely wound up. Iruka stared right back at him as the picturesque deer-in-the-headlight, "I demand that you put it in your lesson plans!"

"Put what in my lesson plans?" he asked, looking to Shizune for an answer, but the woman only looked away from his questioning stare and down at her feet, still blush red at the topic. He also found it strange that Kotetsu and Izumo were having difficulty breathing and Tsunade seemed beside herself with embarrassment and resentment.

"This desk," Naruto explained, "Every Hokage to ever run this village has had sex on it!"

There was a pregnant pause and then...

"NO WAY!" Iruka yelled back at him, now unable to take his eyes away from the piece of furniture in question. On that desk...had every Hokage really...?

He quickly shook his head to clear such ludicrous thoughts, "I'm not teaching children that! How could you even suggest something so perverted? You're supposed to be setting an example, Naruto!"

"It's a piece of history," the blonde argued, "As Hokage, I order you to do it!"

Izumo had to hold onto Kotetsu's shoulder for fear of falling over in his mirth.

"You're not Hokage yet brat," Tsunade growled, still slightly pink in the cheeks, "Don't make me call Sakura away from the hospital just to get you to behave. We're dropping this subject _now_."

Naruto wasn't even listening to her as more ideas began popping into his head the longer he thought about his latest discovery.

"Oh my god!" he cried dramatically, "I was probably conceived on this desk!"

"Will someone get my damn apprentice up here?!" Tsunade snapped to no one in particular.

Kotetsu wiped a tear from his eye and shared a look with his best friend.

There was no doubt about it; life under Uzumaki Naruto's reign would be anything but boring.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Naruto swallowed down a bubble of apprehension that rose in his throat, now wishing he _had_ written something down. He tugged a bit at his collar as he stared down at the sea of smiling faces from the balcony of the Hokage administration building. Behind him stood his predecessor Tsunade, her assistant Shizune, his teammates Sakura, Sasuke and Sai, their old sensei Kakashi, and the last two elders Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

The excited and animated chatter fizzing around the gathered village slowly began to die down as more and more people noticed Naruto step up to the railing. The Rokudaime took a deep break to calm his nerves and began speaking in a loud, clear voice that carried over the hushed precinct.

"You know," he began, "I had this all planned out when I was ten: I was going to work hard, rise through the ranks, gain respect, become Hokage, and then spend a good ten minutes laughing in your faces for ever doubting me."

Laughter erupted throughout the crowd in a ripple and the warming sound gave Naruto a bit more confidence.

"My dream to become Hokage was started for the wrong reasons," he continued, once the noise level calmed down, "I only wanted respect; I wanted people to acknowledge my existence because they _had_ to. It wasn't until I gained my own precious people did I learn that respect should not only be earned, it should be deserved. Great accomplishments will only mean so much in the long run, what really matters is the _reason_ you fight."

He paused for a moment, thinking about how he wanted to continue.

"As you know, the shinobi world is experiencing a time of piece—the first one since the five great nations were established."

More cheers from the crowd interrupted his speech because the majority of them knew he was largely responsible for the aforementioned 'peace'. Naruto waited patiently for the noise to drop again before he carried on.

"But like all good things, this time of peace will eventually come to an end; it may be in ten years, or it may be in a hundred, but eventually the time to fight will resurface," he spoke these words with a grim face and a somber voice. The mass listened silently; not a single person could be found even whispering to his or her neighbor.

"However, if there's one thing I've learned from growing up in this village, it's that we can never be destroyed," a soft smile was expressed through his eyes as he acknowledged the rapt attention he held from his supporters.

"Even if tomorrow the walls are torn down and the buildings crumble, Konoha will still exist as long as the will of fire burns within the people. This village is not defined by its structure or who leads it—it's you, the people, who are the power behind the symbol of the leaf we carry, you are the inspiration and motivation for what we fight for. And as long as I'm Hokage I will protect and represent everything its citizens stand for, both ninja and civilian."

The end of his speech was met with an explosive tide of whistles, cheers and clapping. The ground below him was an animated sea of approval; had he been a lesser man he would have cried tears of joy. Instead, he smiled and waved down to his charges as Sakura pulled up at his side and slipped her hand in his, squeezing it to express her own excitement. Tsunade walked to his other side and began to assess the spectacle.

"Representing the people huh?" Tsunade mumbled wryly out of the corner of her mouth, making sure the keep a sincere enough smile on her face for the villagers.

Naruto could understand her dubiousness; ever since the very first ninja village was established the government has always been a borderline dictatorship. Like all beginnings, the leader of a society was determined by the strongest; as time progressed and the ninja economy flourished, communities grew into villages and that type of government stayed somewhat true to this day, having the strongest ninja prevail over the rest. Though eventually there was the addition of a council of elders, they're purpose was more for more consult than action.

Naruto knew the council wasn't congress but, with a little tweaking, maybe he could get the villagers more involved with decisions of Konohagakure's government. He could possibly have them decide who was on the council through a voting system, or limit the terms of council positions to keep certain clans from prevailing over others. Okay, so maybe it would take a little more than tweaking to change the basis of a century-old government system, but hey, he was immortal. He had some time to kill.

Naruto continued waving and grinning when he replied with a question.

"You know what I liked best about America?"

"What?" Tsunade asked, deciding to humor him.

"The Republic."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

"BALLS! KAGOME HOW THE HELL DID YOU EVER DO THIS TWICE?!"

The pain-filled howls of a twenty-eight year old woman in labor with her first child thundered throughout waiting room of Mass General Hospital, causing its occupants to cringe.

"Is Alaina okay, dad?" Caleb asked the man in the chair next to him with genuine concern. He knew his half-sister was having a baby, but he didn't think it would be _this_ noisy. His mommy and Gavin, Alaina's husband, had gone in the room a long time ago and said that he wasn't allowed. Since then he had been bored out of his mind with only his sister's swearing to keep him entertained.

"She's fine," Inuyasha answered. He gently put his youngest child, who he was holding on his lap a moment earlier, to the ground. Fishing around in his pockets for a minute, he pulled out some loose change and handed it to his son.

"Cal, why don't you take Maddie to the vending machine down the hall and get yourselves something to eat."

"Okay!" Caleb exclaimed, wasting no time in snatching the money from the outstretched clawed hand, "Come on Maddie."

Madeline "Maddie" Nagasaki clutched her big brother's hand dutifully and followed after him. She at curly black hair, human ears and her father's amber eyes; she looked a lot like Bridget in many ways but her face was already resembling that of her mother's. At four years old she would follow her older sibling everywhere, and Caleb took his responsibilities as a big brother very seriously, often times becoming a little too over protective.

Now it was just Inuyasha, Harry and Bridget who were waiting outside the room for the newest arrival of their family. It was last summer that the raven-haired pair were married and officially mated, and Naruto was summoned to be a part of the wedding. Though time and worlds had kept the good friends separated, they still made an effort to summon one another from time to time for special events and get-togethers. Despite the prolonged periods of disconnection, their relationships stayed much the same; Kagome still made a show of mothering Naruto, Naruto still annoyed Harry, Harry still picked on Naruto, and Inuyasha still corrected Naruto's grammar and messed up his hair.

"AHHH! GAVIN I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN THIS IS OVER!"

Bridget turned to her mate and said in all seriousness: "We are never having children."

Harry was about to make an argument to that when another horrific scream sounded from behind the closed doors. He shut his mouth and sat back quietly. Inuyasha quirked his eyebrow at the obedience and smiled.

"You sister is dramatic," he comforted Bridget, "I have never had a wife who has screamed as much as she has giving birth."

"She was always loud," Harry nodded wisely with his arms crossed.

"You're loud."

"Your mom's loud."

"THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOUR DICK I'M GUNNA BLOW IT OFF WITH A KILLING CURSE!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Sakura squealed as her stomach jumped into her throat after a taking particularly sharp plunge. Pink tresses were steadily ripped out of the clip holding her hair up and whipped around her face and neck. Flying with Naruto was unlike any other experience. It didn't take much for her to convince her lover to take her for a ride in the sky; just a hip-shake here and a whisker stroke there and she'd be piggybacking him two hundred feet in the air in no time.

Their velocity slowed as her joyride began to end, but the drop still had her squeezing her eyes shut against the tickling sensations in her stomach. The wind around her stopped and she was jolted out of the airborne feeling when they landed—only then did Sakura trust herself to open her eyes. His arms loosened around her thighs and she slid off his back, looking around their surroundings.

"Why did we stop here?" she asked, still panting from all the screaming she did. They had taken off from the balcony in front of the Hokage office window, but she now found herself on top of the Hokage Mountain—the fourth's head to be more precise.

"Because," he answered, grabbing one of her wrists and pulling her by the waist close to his body with his other arm as if he were about to dance with her, "this is where I first kissed you."

Sakura looked around once more and clearly remembered that rainy day after Asuma's funeral.

"You mean as a boy?" she asked, her eyes glittering in mirth. She snaked a hand up and brushed her thumb along his whiskers, "How could I forget? It was when I first discovered these."

Naruto released a small moan between slightly parted lips and nuzzled into her hand.

"Stop abusing them."

He suddenly grabbed the hand touching his face, lifted it up and twirled her around. She laughed with carefree abandon as she was spun and then dipped. She loosely wrapped her arms around his neck to help hold her weight as she relaxed her neck back into the horizontal pose. Slowly, she pulled her head up to look into Naruto's smiling, mischievous eyes. They were so beautiful, so blue that they sparkled when compared to the open sky in the background. And the sky, it was just a beautiful, perfect day—

Sakura gasped out loud and almost let go of the man holding her.

There, behind his head, high above in the cerulean troposphere was a string of clouds in the unmistakable form of words.

**Marry Me?**

Her eyes sought Naruto's, her face a mixture of elation and shock.

"Will you?" he asked softly, knowing what she had seen. She vacantly realized he had yet to pull her back up from the playful dip she was still held in but perhaps it was because time was now standing still for her. She felt weightless, like she was floating through life, just a spectator to the perfect events that by. The question she had been waiting for was written out in the heavens for all to see.

"Is—is that a serious question?" she whispered, finally finding her voice.

"Is that your answer?"

She laughed and threw herself up at him, pulling his neck into her grip; caught somewhat unawares Naruto tumbled forwards, just barely catching himself before his superior weight crushed her against ground. Sakura wasn't concerned in the least that she was now laying in the dirt with the back of her clothes sure to be stained.

"Yes!" she cried, keeping her death grip on her new fiancé's neck so he would stay on top of her. A hard kiss met his lips before she pulled back and yelled again, "Yes you big dork!"

Another kiss soon followed, this time her tongue snaked forwards for some action of its own, but before he could properly respond she pulled back again.

"What took you so long?"

"Hey, the question mark was hard," he pouted, "I had to practice."

Sakura giggled and rubbed her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss. The wide smile wouldn't leave his face; she was just too adorable for him sometimes. He pecked her quickly and rolled off of her so that they could lay on the ground side by side, their bare arms brushing against each other; even after all these years a simple contact between the two could send tingles down their spines. The wind was starting to pick up, and the overjoyed couple watched as the billowy proposal was gradually wiped away. It didn't matter; it had served its purpose.

At that moment Naruto felt that his life couldn't get any better. He was Hokage, he not only had the respect of the village, but of the world, and he was marrying the very same girl he swore he would when he was just nine years old. How many people can do that in their life?

Wondering at her future husband's silence, Sakura turned and propped herself up on her elbow so that she could face him. She studied the strong profile that was gazing pensively up at the sky, knowing she couldn't have asked for a better man to marry.

And for them, it was hardly the beginning. With that thought in mind she began to idly trace her finger through the dirt.

"Hmmm, Uzumaki Sakura...I like how that sounds," she hummed to herself. Naruto mirrored Sakura's position, rolling on his side and using his elbow to prop himself up so that he was facing her as well.

He had meant to say something racy relevant to other ways her name could sound given the right situation, but the scribbles in the dirt made by her finger caught his words before they could leave his throat.

**Mark me?**

His tell-tale foxy grin was set wide across his jaw and the enchanting sparkle in his eyes magnified.

"Tonight?" he asked and Sakura nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, tonight."

He stared at her a moment longer—the demon in him rearing up at the prospect of attaining a mate—before he tackled her back to the ground. She squealed and laughed as he nearly ravished her on the spot—right there on top of his father's "head".

"I said tonight! Not now!" she cried pitifully, but her words were as weak as her efforts to stop his hand from creeping up her shirt.

Naruto planned to rule as Konoha's Rokudaime Hokage for several decades, raising a family with his mate and watching his children grow up and move on with their own lives. He would appreciate the changes of time as his and Sakura's love was preserved through the eternal bond of immortality.

When their friends had grown old and departed, and Konoha had passed so many generations that their story became one molded from history into legend, they would go to Harry and Inuyasha's world and spend a couple centuries with old friends and family who weren't limited to a mortal's fate. By that time Inuyasha would have developed his gate-keeping abilities to the point where he was allowed to take another along with him without almost killing them. Harry still had quite a ways to go.

Wars would come and go throughout ever changing eras, and even if they didn't age that wouldn't stop them from growing. Naruto was a bringer of peace, as were Inuyasha and Harry; it was their destiny to keep evil at bay without extinguishing it, the precarious duty of keeping the balance, and they accepted it with grace. And behind each of their legendary power was the strength of a woman.

But even during those times of peace, the parallel souls were never meant to be idle. There was always the possibility of being thrown back into an apocalyptic war or a battle against the evil of another universe. After all, the Scroll of Heroes was purposely dropped between worlds by Inuyasha; it was known to be lost in translation with the possibility of falling into any corresponding world of Earth. Perhaps one day it would accept someone worthy of their summons.

To whom it would befall, only time would tell.

**THE END**

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o 

Well, that was it! It's done—finished—over. I almost can't believe it.

Wow, I don't know where to start. When I first started Demon Hunter I had no idea I would write a sequel, let alone a trilogy. I can't believe it's come this far; it's been like, what? Three years working on this series? Looking back, I feel like I've come a long way as an amateur writer.

I know the end sounds like I'm making a fourth installment, but I'm not. I've gotten a lot of good suggestions for continuations, but I feel if I drag things out any longer I could just end up ruining it. Of course I have a bunch of ideas of what could happen in their futures (one person even suggested I have a new story focusing on Caleb—he is pretty B.A. for a toddler) but I also have other things on my mind.

Actually, I think many of you will be happy to know that I am already working on my next chapter fic. It is purely Naruto, and has nothing to do with crossovers or any of my other stories (though I may take a few ideas out of them, just little things—like Naruto's whisker details—that I like). It will be called **Medicinal Lullaby**, so keep your eyes open for that in the next couple months or so!

A special thanks goes to **strider714** for improving the quality of my grammar halfway through this. Seriously, you have to be some kind of man to put up with my irrationality.

Most of all, thank **you** all so much for reading, especially those who have been with me the whole way through. It's been a lot of fun and I've gotten some great feedback from a lot of you!

XOXO


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